A Few Keys to Success
Understanding Literary Theory
 Literary theory is not something that exists in a text;
literary theory is something a reader projects onto the
text themselves.
 Incorrect: “In the novella Heart of Darkness, by Joseph
Conrad, lies an abundance of literary criticism, such as
historical, feminist, and Marxist.”
Don’t Soapbox!
 There is no better way to turn off a reader than by
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peppering your essay with clichés and excessive
intensifiers.
Avoid phrases like “throughout history,” “in conclusion,”
and “greatest play ever.”
You’ll find your reader respects a concise, fully supported
argument.
Examples: “Joseph Conrad wrote his masterpiece, Heart of
Darkness, in 1902.”
“During the time of imperialism, Europeans looked
towards Africa for most of their colonies.”
First Lines are Important Too
 Don’t use a “get-me-over” first line. They do little to
nothing for your paper.
 Examples: “Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness
is highly controversial.”
 “Heart of Darkness can be interpreted in many
different ways.”
 “Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Joseph
Conrad.”
Be Original.
 An advanced student synthesizes ideas; he or she does
not regurgitate them.
Poor Thesis
Through Joseph Conrad’s use of diction, comparisons,
and imagery on the pages of Heart of Darkness, he
invents one of the most powerful novellas ever created
because of its literary prowess alone.
Misguided Thesis
 “Understanding of the purpose and meaning of Joseph
Conrad’s Heart of Darkness can be enhanced through
analyzing the novella with New Historicism, which
would entail researching the contemporary beliefs and
practices such as imperialism and racism which
existed in the European society where Conrad wrote to
observe how these cultural aspects affected the text
itself.”
A Bit Better of a Thesis
 By critiquing Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness
through a psychological point of view, readers can
come to understand how man is capable of incredible
evils when he feels out of his elements and threatened
by others.”
Almost There
 “In his novella, Joseph Conrad introduces various
social groups, through the imagery of the African
population’s suffering, the disregard of women, and
obvious domination of social classes, in order to
convince the reader of the social hierarchy that existed
in Europe in the 1890s.”
Boom. Got it.
 “Through his association with the qualities of
darkness, greed, and mystery, Kurtz comes to
exemplify Carl Jung’s archetype of “the shadow,” acting
as a symbol for the darkness of the human soul and
the corruptibility of man.”
The Awakening
 Let’s examine the thesis statements from last night’s
writing assignment.
 We’ll switch and analyze.
 Let me know if you’d like to volunteer your work for
the class discussion.