part 1 ‘Heart of Darkness’

Close Analysis Reread from the last paragraph on pg. 6 to the end of it on the top of pg. 7. What is the significance of this paragraph? What is the purpose of Marlow telling the story of his predecessor? What does this indicate about Marlow’s attitudes towards the native people and what he might encounter? What does it indicate about his views of imperialism? Study the section where Marlow goes to visit his aunt. It starts at the bottom of pg. 9 and goes to the top of pg. 10. How does this scene with Marlow’s aunt develop the view of women in the novel? Marlow’s aunt believes he is going to Africa as “an emissary of light.”(10) What does this mean? How does this fit or not fit with Marlow’s experiences upon arrival? What is the significance of the contrast between this and the description of Kurtz as “an emissary of pity, and science, and progress, and devil knows what else.”(22)

Close analysis Reread from the beginning of the last paragraph on pg 12 to the end of the first paragraph on pg 14. Find one sentence that describes Marlow’s outlook in this section. How does this section help you to make more sense of Marlow’s view of imperialism? Why is Marlow “becoming scientifically interesting” (17). What does it reveal about his opinions of Africa and how Europeans are affected by it? How does Marlow see Kurtz as different than other men? (pg 21)

Homework Read pages 27-37 by tomorrow. Read up to page 50 for class on Thursday. Tomorrow in class, you will have a close reading essay in class. This will not be a test grade; it is to help you review. The essay is modeled after the AP close reading essay.