Heart of Darkness

Conrad's Heart of Darkness

This novella is short, dark and very disturbing. It is also one of the most influential works of literature in the 20th Century.

Now that you have become aware of the implicit references to Empire in the previous two novels, in this one you should be able to find the explicit intentions.

You should also be able to start thinking about the way the novel is structured - think about who is the narrator, when and where are they situated in relation to the action described? How is the story told?

In what ways is the structure similar or different from the to  other novels we have studied?

You might like to read something about the context of the novel Here:

Heart of Darkness: Context

Conrad's novel is Modernist. If you are not sure what this means, take a look at this:

The Sign of Four

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The Sign of Four

So this week we are going to look for signs of Empire in The Sign of Four.

Please read The Sign of Four

Compare it to the Granada Television version by clicking on the link below:

By looking for signs of the Empire, we are taking what is known as a post-colonialist approach. The post-colonialist approach was founded by the great Palestinian intellectual Edward Said and explained in his famous book: Orientalism

This film explains it briefly:

  When you have watched the film you may like to read this article, remember to relate it also back to what we have learned about Jane Eyre:

“It’s a mongoose!” Imperialism and Orientalism in Victorian Detective Fiction

The figure of Bertha Mason

Click on this link to go to a page on Bertha Mason at the British Library website.

The figure of Bertha Mason

And this article will add to your understanding of this character:

Bertha Mason's madness in a contemporary context

Week 1. Jane Eyre

Welcome to our course blog. Use this site to post comments and add materials for us all to add to our learning journey.

This week we examined the opening chapter of the novel and discussed some approaches to literature.

We talked about genre and the way in which Jane Eyre can be categorized in different genres. This link will tell you more:

Jane Eyre and genre

Next week we will be studying the character of Bertha Mason

For homework watch this short film:

Those of you who want to learn more watch this: