Choose one of the essay questions below to write an open-ended essay. Be sure to use several examples—reasons and concrete details—to support your argument. No matter the question, you must provide the strong central idea that expresses a major idea in the novel and topic sentences that emphasize, reinforce, or enhance the central idea in the body paragraphs. (Suggested time—40 minutes.)

  1. Critic Roland Barthes has said, “Literature is the question minus the answer.” Consider Barthes observation and write an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises and the extent to which it offers any answers. Explain how the author’s treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.
  1. Many ambiguous characters—characters whose authors discourage readers from identifying them as purely evil or good—are at the heart of many works of literature. In what ways is Kurtz a morally ambiguous character?Explain why the author chooses to include the element of ambiguity in the character’s moral fiber. Avoid plot summary.
  1. Many writers use a country setting to establish values within a work of literature. For example, the country may be a place of virtue and peace or one of primitivism and ignorance. In Heart of Darkness, what significant role does setting play in establishing a major theme? Analyze how the setting functions in the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.
  1. Michel Foucault has called a memory of an event that disrupts the narrative of enlightened progress that European culture tried to tell about history a “counter-memory.” Art, more than history, is closer to the truth only in so far as it carries within it the counter-memory in strong images that express the truth despite being repressed. Such an image is the ivory keys of the grand piano that Marlow sees as he waits to greet the Intended, which becomes a symbol for the exploitation that Europe’s high culture tried to cover up. Think of another such image or images in the novel and use it to argue a repressed counter-memory and a major theme in the novel.
  1. In some novels, a major character possesses both admirable and despicable traits. The character is usually held up for admiration, even worship, or absolute contempt by another character in the novel. Pick a novel in which a character has traits worthy of such adulation or disdainand explain how the novel balances both responses so as to effect an ambiguous, final assessment of the character.
  1. Per the title of the novel, what is the “heart of darkness”? And, perhaps equally important, where is the “heart of darkness”? Is it also equally relevant to ask when is the “heart of darkness”? Discuss the significance of the title in relation to the human condition over the ages—to civilization versus primitivism. Does Conrad express a belief in progress or does he hold a belief in man’s ultimate savagery? Can we come to a conclusion about which ultimately triumphs—civilization or primitivism? Are both intertwined?
  1. In many ways, Heart of Darkness is a psychological journey that tries to unmask a truth. It constantly moves between concealment and revelation. Discuss the various uses of imagery in the novel that express an unmasking, an unburying, an uncovering or an obscuring, a covering, a masking, a benighting, a befogging. What is the purpose of this imagery and how successful is it?
  1. Marlow expresses very strong sentiments about lies and their effects, yet he lies to the Intended at the end of the novel. How do you account for this? What are the lies in the novel? What purpose do they serve? Are all the lies equivalent? Are there any clues in the novel as to how the reader is to interpret and judge the use of lying, or is lying ultimately morally ambiguous in the novel?
  1. In a famous lecture in 1975, Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe called Conrad’s novel racist: “The simple truth is glossed over in criticisms of his work” because “white racism against Africa is such a normal way of thinking that its manifestations go completely undetected.” He renewed the attack in 1980 when he stated that Conrad’s work may have had the intent of subverting but ultimately ends up confirming imperialistic ideology. Discuss Conrad’s attitude toward imperialism and support your argument with examples from the novel. Take a stand, either agreeing or disagreeing with Achebe.
  1. At one point in the novel Marlow refers to the “darkness conquering the heart,” perhaps revealing a belief that savagery has the power to overcome the strengths of civilization. Yet Marlow, unlike Kurtz, does not fall prey to or become a victim of the “darkness.” Why not? What concept or concepts are offered in the novel as an antidote to barbaric, savage action that allow civilization to maintain itself without descending into a war of all against all?