Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart suggested essay topics
I have pulled together essay topics from different sources. You can use or modify any or come up with your own. Your essay must show how the novel comments on or is informed by colonialism/imperialism. Your essay must be at least 1600 words, not counting header, block quotes, work cited entries or obvious padding.
Heart of Darkness
Things Fall Apart
I have pulled together essay topics from different sources. You can use or modify any or come up with your own. Your essay must show how the novel comments on or is informed by colonialism/imperialism. Your essay must be at least 1600 words, not counting header, block quotes, work cited entries or obvious padding.
- An introductory paragraph (with an attention-grabbing opener) to set up your argument and chart your course
- A clear, thoughtful, and well-organized thesis that ties to the novel and serves as a foundation for the entire essay
- Well-structured topic sentences that relate to the thesis and provide a focus for each body paragraph
- Seamlessly integrated quotes (at least two per paragraph) from the novel to support your thesis and topic sentences
- Quoted evidence from three other sources besides the book you are focused on (and, of course, quotes from that novel)
- Thoughtful analysis that sheds light on the topic sentences and goes beyond a surface understanding of your chosen theme.
- A concluding paragraph to wrap-up your points and express the relevance of your topic outside of an academic setting (how is this significant in the real world? why should someone outside of class care?)
- MLA formatting, in-text citation and works cited page
Heart of Darkness
- Marlow says he hates lies because "there is a taint of death, a flavour of mortality in lies" (39). Yet at the end of the book, he lies. Why does he lie? What is the significance of this lie?
- Is Heart of Darkness a racist text? How does that influence its take on colonialism?
- Achebe claimed that Heart of Darkness is an "offensive and deplorable book" that "set[s] Africa up as a foil to Europe, as a place of negations at once remote and vaguely familiar, in comparison with which Europe's own state of spiritual grace will be manifest." Achebe’s argument is encased in the overall claim that Conrad did not set up imperialism clearly enough to indict it. Argue for or against Achebe's assertion.
- To what extent is Marlow/Conrad a product of his culture? To what extent does he criticize or uphold its values?
- Why is Marlow so loyal to Kurtz?
- Are we required to act when we see other human beings treated inhumanely, and if so, do the times and culture we live in negate that obligation or excuse our failure to do so? Does individual action without group effort have value in the face of great evil or suffering?
- Marlow distances himself at different points from the reader because he thinks they cannot relate to the experience. Mention these instances and is this notion justified. How does this connect to other texts on colonialism?
- In what way does Heart of Darkness confirm or rebut the thesis of Shooting an Elephant?
- Marlow says, "It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind -- as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness. The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much.” What does he mean? Is this a justification of imperialism and colonialism?
- Kurtz's dying words are "The horror! The horror!" Go for it.
- Describe the role of women in Heart of Darkness. You will have to negotiate the descriptions and “values” of the three key women: Marlow’s aunt, Kurtz's Intended, and the beautiful native woman that lived with Kurtz. Do Conrad’s female characters reflect the opinions or definitions of 1890’s European women? How does the representation (by Conrad) and treatment (by characters) of women add to our understanding of colonialism.
Things Fall Apart
- Okonkwo is one of the more memorable figures in modern literature. In many ways this is not because he typifies the attributes of a man of Umuofia, but because he is different from so many of his tribesmen. In fact, there are ways where his makeup seems akin to a typical European hero: he is driven by the father/son conflict, is a victim of his pride (see definition of Classical Greek hamartia), and often acts outside of the consensus of his people. Write an essay that examines Okonkwo in the context of some of these issues. It may be useful to include some of the ways his own fellows view his actions throughout the novel. In your presentation of Okonkwo, propose what it is that Achebe is trying to achieve through this character.
- The central concern of Chinua Achebe in his novel Things Fall Apart is that of balance or moderation. “Let the kite perch, and let the eagle perch too” is the proverb that reflects balance. There is also an acknowledgment of cultural relativism: “”we say he is foolish because he does not know our ways, and perhaps he says we are foolish because we do not know his.” Despite recognition of the need for balance and of differences, there is a fatal clash of cultures when religious practices come up against each other.
- Write an essay that discusses the possibilities for coexistence of the Igbo tribal practices and the new culture of Christianity. Is the eventual “falling apart” of the original culture inevitable when the new ways arise within the clans? What aspects of the belief systems make this inevitable? If, on the other hand, you feel that it might have been possible for both the kite and eagle to perch, so to speak, how might that have come to be? What kinds of events or ways of thinking (that might have been avoided) led to the falling apart of things?
- In Things Fall Apart, Achebe includes stories from Igbo culture and tradition, proverbs, and parables. What is the significance of Achebe's integration of African literary forms with that of Western literary forms? How does this a challenge to imperialism?
- Achebe resents the stereotype of African cultures that is presented in literature, such as Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Identify instances in Things Fall Apart that portray variations in African cultures. How does his portrayal of various and dynamic (changing) pose a challenge to imperialism?
- Compare Mr. Brown and Reverend Smith. How does the black and white thinking of Reverend Smith contribute to Umuofia's downfall? What would have prevented Umuofia's downfall? You may also think about the missionaries who challenged Leopold’s rule in the Congo.