Heart of Darkness #4 quarter

Novel Summary Sheet ~Quartering the Text ~

Your name: Malte Bolesta Quarter #4

Novel Name: Heart of Darkness

Author’s last name: Conrad

  1. Skeletal plot (Point form only- keep this short but insightful):

1.–More attacks on the steamer ordered by Mr. Kurtz

2.  –midnight burning station

3.  –Marlow travels alone in the forest, find Kurtz and save him

4.  –Kurtz dies

5.  –2 years after that Marlow meets his cousin and girlfriend, end of story, steamer now near the heart of darkness

 Conflict or “tension” eg person vs person, or (internal) person vs self; Is this important to the novel’s theme or purpose? Circle one  and explain:

yes  or  No

Explanation: There is a conflict. Kurtz has it, when he thinks about coming back. He had plans and now all plans will be set off. This conflict is a part of another conflict between Marlow and Kurtz. Marlow tries to bring back Mr. Kurtz, but Kurtz doesn’t want to come back.

2. Setting (When & where does various parts of your novel take place-how are these places important to the character or the theme of your work?):

-forest –cares for suspense and a dark atmosphere, Marlow finds Kurtz in there

-steamer (in and after the story) -main part of the story happens on it

-room -here Marlow talks to Kurtz’s girlfriend

-stream -the steamer drives on it

3. Characters (Know your character types and why this is important to your novel! (Eg. Are they round/flat-why?/static/dynamic-why?) How many characters do you meet in this quarter or do you find more about their personalities? #?

-Charlie Marlow

He is a round and flexible character, because he makes experiences and changes his behaviour sometimes.

-Mr. Kurtz

He is a round but static character, becuase he stay at his plams amd his view of life.

Mr. Kurtz's cousin

She is static and flat. You only hear, what she does after Mr. Kurtz is dead.

-Mr. Kurtz's girlfriend

She is a round and flexible character. Marlow meets her in a room.

-manager He onlzy appears very short in this quarter. He is a static and flat character.

4. Point Of View~ Circle one!: 1st person    3rd person/limited   omniscient   or    omniscient  

Why do you think the writer chose this point of view to develop plot character or themes?

 The novel is written in the 1^st person view. I think Conrad has chosen this point of view, because it brings the happening nearer the reader. The suspense can be higher with that point of view, too.

5.Notables on writer’s style and structure!

  Are there similes or metaphors? Record a quote:

”The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky—seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.” (Part3)

  Visual or other imagery? Record a quote:

”There was an agent buttoned up inside an ulster and sleeping on a chaire on deck within three feet of me. The yells had not awakened him; he snored very slightly; I left him to his slmubers and leaped ashore.”(Part3)

  Is there unusual vocabulary or diction? Record a quote:

”What made this emotion so overpowering was – how shall I define it? - the moral shock I received, as if something altogether monstrous, intolerable to thought and odious the soul, had been thrust upon me unexpectedly.”(Part3)

  Is the novel structured with a particular idea? Record a quote or explain

The particular idea of the story told by Marlow was, that he had to save Mr. Kurtz out of the Inner Station, while there is war.

  Is there dialogue & is it realistic? Record a quote:

”I looked ahead – piloting. 'Close the shutter,'said Kurtz suddenly one day; 'I can't bear to look at this.' I did so. There was silence. 'Oh, but I will wring your heart yet!' he cried at the invisible wilderness.”(Part3)

1.   Themes: Record words and topics related to themes contained and developed in your novel:
   -war (savages, bony)
   -good and evil (darkness, love, danger)
   -fear or mystic(fog)

1. Personal Response to this quarter: what you thought or felt, related to, did not relate to; how universal is the experience that your protagonist goes through?The quarter like the last one short. But it happened a lot in this quarter. Marlow made the experience to get his own impression of Mr. Kurtz. For him it was like, that he is grown up in the rank as a philosophic man. For me the whole story is interesting. It is true, that in the novel are a lot of absurd things, but there are more interesting parts than these absurd passages. For me the novel has a good story. I like atmospheres in books like this. You don”'t know, what will happen next page.The reader amkes a few experiences like Marlow, too.