Mission Accomplished

12 December 2007 23:41:58
The following have been included in Profolio of student 36251:
Reflective Letter
Paper
Works Cited
Annotated Bibliography
Paper/ Annotated Bibliography Drafts

Blog to be terminated.
End Transmission

Wed goal

I would like to finish my section on greed and start my conclusion.

UPDATE
I finsihed this. For the most part, this paper is complete. Mass revision needed.

Monday goal

My goals for this class were to start the section of my paper on greed and work up a way to connect this section to the rest of the essay. I was able to do both of these, so I'm happy with the hour.

Thesis and outline

Thesis: Far from being a simple adventure story, Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" is a severe critique of the thoughts and practices of colonialism.

Outline:
I Introduce what novel is about: colonialism
II Discuss evils of colonialism: false philanthropic ideas, dehumanization of native peoples, greed
III a)Discuss presentation of colonial idea of philanthropy
b)Conrad's response to idea
IV a)perception of Africans as objects
b)Conrad's response
c)Africans as animals
d)Conrad's response
e) Chinua Achebe's dispute of my claims
V a)Conrad affirms humanity of black Africans
b)Achebe's dispute
c)Conrad's personal experiences proving Achebe wrong
d)Conrad uses satire in the same way Achebe does
VI a) greed- possession
b) greed-money
VII Kurtz realizes evils of colonialism
VIII discussion of colonialism today
a) what was once evil, remains evil
b) colonial ideas still exist today
IX Conclusion

annotated bibliography revision ideas

To revise this asignment, I would like to clarify why this topic matters to the acedemic community. Also, I have been told my style of writing is "droning". I need to consider that not everyone reading this essay is as interested in the topic as I am. I will be adding at least a sixth source before the final draft is due so I will meet the requirement for sources.

Annotated Bibliography (work in progress)

Introduction:
The main research question that guides this research project is, “How does Conrad illustrate the evils of colonialism in his novel, Heart of Darkness?”. This will be an essay directed at the general academic community. The topic matters because the evils of colonialism are part of the human experience, which is shared. As humans we have the responsibility of protecting the rights of others. Colonialism includes falsely philanthropic ideas, dehumanization of natives and greed. It is important to remember this history of colonialism because it still affects us today. We must remember the past so we can change the present and safeguard the future. 

In the essay I will present three main ideas of colonialism; the philanthropic idea, the dehumanization of natives and greed. I will discuss how Conrad illustrates these ideas and how he responds to them and in his response criticizes them. As arguments against my thoughts come up I will address them with support form the text and other sources. In the conclusion, I will restate how Conrad is not a racist, colonialist, but quite the opposite. 


Achebe, Chinua. “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Google Scholar. 10/30/07. [http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=chinua+achebe&spell=1]



Achebe’s argument is, “namely that Joseph Conrad was a thoroughgoing racist”. He adamantly supports this opinion throughout his speech. In analyzing Heart of Darkness Achebe draws attention to negative imagery of Africans in the novel. Achebe believes that Conrad represents Africans as inhuman savages and that this representation is an illustration of the author’s own racism. Achebe goes so far as to say Conrad, “chose the role of purveyor of comforting myths” in his depiction of Africans, that Conrad affirms the colonial ideas that Africans are less than human or if they are human, that they are less developed peoples than the Europeans. In my essay I will argue these points with evidence from the text and demonstrate how Conrad uses the imagery Achebe discusses to denounce colonialism, not support it as Achebe believes.
Achebe is perhaps the most controversial critic of Conrad's novel. His speech, which has since been written as an essay, has influenced a great deal of debate in the academic community. As an African scholar and author, in particular one who has written influential novels on colonialism himself, Achebe's opinion on Conrad must certainly be taken into consideration. However, I do not agree with the basic principles guiding this speech. I do not agree that Conrad is racist. 

Achebe's speech will be an exceptional "nay-sayer" for my essay. It brings up many of the most widely held criticisms of Conrad and does so in a very provocative way. I was quite upset by this speech. I disagree with it entirely. It is perhaps the best example of argument against what I myself believe. 




Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1994.

This is my primary source for my essay. It is the novel itself. The analysis of this text is scholarly even though the novel itself was not written for an academic audience. In the novel Conrad brings up the controversial colonial ideas of philanthropy, dehumanization of natives and greed. He presents arguments from the colonial perspective in support of these three ideas followed by immediate discredit with powerful arguments on the realities and evils of such ideas. Discussion of Conrad’s examples and arguments against these colonial ideas will be the heart of my essay. All critical reviews of this book and outside support for this paper will be putting these examples in context, connecting them to our world today or presenting opposing arguments to my points.


Murfin, Ross C., ed. Heart of Darkness, A Case Study in Contemporary Criticism. New York: St. Martin’s Press, Inc. 1989.

This source is an exploration of the novel from several critical positions. I will be referencing the general discussion of criticism as well as using a quote from the discussion of New Historicism, the idea that the novel has merit in a historical perspective. The editor and author of much of this source material, Ross C. Murfin, was a professor of English and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Miami at the time of publication. Credentials such as this lead me to believe that this is a credible and scholarly source. The editor supports the idea that the novel is about the, “immorality of whites in Africa”(98), which lends weight to my argument that the novel is indeed about colonization. Murfin summarizes author Thomas Moser’s idea that Conrad’s use of the colors black and white is reversed in that “darkness means truth, whiteness means false hood” (103). This goes along the lines of my argument that Conrad is not racist. Finally, Murfin feels Heart of Darkness, “undoubtedly presents as accurate a picture of colonized Africa as many other supposedly non-fictional accounts written during the same period” (226). This shows the credibility of the novel, which is important if anyone is going to value the arguments it contains.


Sherry, Norman, ed. Conrad: The Critical Heritage. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., 1973.

This book is not the argument of one author, but rather a collection of critical reviews of the novel. I will be using material from three of these reviews to summarize what the novel is about. With these critics I will present the argument that Heart of Darkness is about colonialism and the counter argument that it is not.
The first critic I will reference is Edward Garnett. Garnett describes the novel as, “…a study of ‘the white man in Africa’ which is most amazing” (P.131-2). He goes on to say, “Heart of Darkness to present its theme bluntly, is an impression, taken from life, of the conquest by the European whites of a certain portion of Africa, an impression in particular of the civilising methods of a certain great European Trading Company face to face with the ‘nigger’… we add that he [the reader] will find the human life, black and white, in Heart of Darkness an uncommonly and uncannily serious affair” (p.132). Clearly Garnett is under the impression Conrad was writing on colonialism. However, Garnett does not believe Conrad is for or against colonialism. Garnett feels that Conrad is not giving a critique but rather an unbiased illustration of the practice.
Garnett is a good source for my essay because this particular critique has been used by my other sources as well. Since he is valued by my other academic sources I think using his original critique will be very sound.
I plan on using Garnett to prove that the novel is about colonialism. I will not be using him to decide if Conrad is for or against the practice, but rather to prove that Conrad does explore the practice.
My second critic is an unnamed author who wrote a review for the Manchester Guardian. The critic argues, “It must not be supposed that Mr. Conrad makes attack upon colonization, expansion, even upon Imperialism. In no one is the essence of the adventurous spirit more instinctive. But cheap ideals, platitudes of civilisation are shriveled up in the heat of such experiences” (P.135). Here the argument is being made that Conrad’s work is merely an adventure story. This was a popularly held view of the novel at the time. Other critics said the novel is a bad adventure tale at that, comparing it to Kipling and Yeats and discussing the shortfalls of the novel when compared to the excitement of other works from the time.
This author may not be known, but the sentiments are those of some of Conrad’s contemporaries. This is scholarly because of the text in which I found it. I may not know the author, but the collection of critiques is credible and scholarly so I think it is an appropriate source. I plan on using this as a “nay-sayer” to my argument that the novel is about colonization.
The last critic I will be citing from this collection is also un-named. The review was published in Athenaeum. This critic does not discuss Heart of Darkness much other than to say, “The reviewer deliberately abstains both from quotation and from any attempt at analysis of a story like “The Heart of Darkness.” Any such attempt in a limited space would be a painful injustice where work of this character is concerned” (P.139). The idea here is that the novel contains far too much meaning to discuss in a review. This critic is assuredly under the impression that Conrad’s work is more than an adventure story and I could not agree more.
I will be using this critic to dispute the naysayers who argued that the novel is only a poor adventure story. It is scholarly because of the same reasons as the previous author.

Watts, Cedric. “‘A Bloody Racist’: Achebe’s View of Conrad.” The Yearbook of English Studies 13 (1983): 196-209. JSTOR. Elmhurst College Lib., Elmhurst, IL. 1 November 2007 .

Watts’ article is a summary and response to Chinua Achebe’s famous speech which denounced Conrad as a racist. In the article Watts holds a very high opinion of the novel, saying, “…I have long regarded Heart of Darkness as one of the greatest works of fiction, and have felt that part of its greatness lies in the power of its criticisms of racial prejudice” (196). Here and throughout the article Watts asserts his belief that Conrad is far from racist. He cites numerous examples from the text and from Conrad’s own letters which support his argument against Achebe.
As an article in The Yearbook of English Studies Cedric Watts’ article provides a credible scholarly source. At the time of this article Watts was teaching at the University of Sussex which leads me to believe he is a well educated scholar himself. I will be using this article as support for several of the points in my essay. It supports my believes that Heart of Darkness discusses the racial prejudices of colonialism, that Conrad is not racist and that the novel is of great merit to the scholarly community.

what kind of sources am I using?

Primary sources: Heart of Darkness, Interview with source(s) educated on novel, interview with source(s) educated in colonialism/racism today and in past

For the interviews I plan on speaking with professors and students here at the college as well as a librarian I know. Hopefully I can interview Professor Ford as a source educated in the novel. I would also like to interview some of my friends who have studied this novel. Contacting these people should not be a problem because I can speak with them on a regualr basis.