Heart of Darkness
The title: 2
one-syllable words followed by 1 two-syllable word
The book is in three parts
The narrator is
telling a story to his comrades
The setting, Africa,
is a dark, mysterious place where no civilization or culture is present
One of the themes is
about imperialism’s hypocrisy in its treatment of the natives
The Europeans pay
only lip-service to religion and in practice ignore it, even as they
ostensibly try to convert the natives.
Women in the book are
powerless and naïve, although not without influence (Marlowe’s aunt)
The theme, conveyed
in the title, is about how, when man is removed from civilization, he goes
mad.
Kurz’s descent into
madness is the result of being removed from civilization and exposed to the
savagery of Africa.
Kurz’s tragic fall
is an inevitable result of the basic human condition, that it is only the
restrictions of civilization that stop us all from becoming savage.
Whereas Marlowe
portrays Kurz’s demise as noble to Kurz’s intended, to the reader it is
portrayed as ignoble.
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Things Fall Apart
The title: 2
one-syllable words followed by 1 two-syllable word
The book is in three parts
The narration
emulates the style and tone of African story-telling
The setting, Africa,
is alive with a rich culture full of many traditions
One of the themes is
about imperialism’s hypocrisy in its treatment of the natives
The Igbo value their
religion and its traditions and obey it, until they are “corrupted” by
European influence.
Women in the book
may be powerless, but they are not naïve – and also not without
influence (Chielo)
The theme, conveyed
in the title, is about how, when a man’s civilization is destroyed, he goes
mad.
Okonkwo’s descent is
the result of having his civilization destroyed by the encroaching Europeans.
Okonkwo’s tragic
fall is an inevitable result of a tragic flaw in his own character; others
would and do not suffer the same fate under the same conditions.
Whereas Okonkwo’s
fall and suicide are viewed by the characters in the book as ignoble, to the
reader it is portrayed as noble.
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A blog for the students of IB Language and Literature at the Haarlemmermeer Lyceum for v5 in 2015-2016 and v6 in 2016-2017
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Heart Falls Apart or Things of Darkness?
Chinua Achebe made no bones about the fact that "Things Fall Apart" was written to present an African answer to what had, until then, been the only literature about the European colonization of Africa -- the literature written by Europeans, such as Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". Furthermore, in his 1977 essay "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness'", he presented his case that even in Conrad's criticism of European imperialism, European ethnocentrism and and racism was present in "Heart of Darkness". But how much is "Things Fall Apart" not just an answer to "Heart of Darkness" but a direct response, modeled on Conrad's book to present itself as an alternative view? Whether intentional or not, there are a number of parallels that can be drawn. Decide for yourself if it holds up:
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