Newman 12IB Lit
Heart of Darkness
Assignment Category: Major, 100 points
Due Date: Monday, March 30, 2015
Format: Turnitin.com ONLY
Task: In a formal, well-written analytical essay, respond to one of the following prompts. Your
response should provide specific, cited textual evidence as support for a clear thesis statement –
failure to provide either will result in a failing grade.
1. Discuss the importance of the journey as an organizing structure in Heart of Darkness.
2. In what ways and for what reasons does Heart of Darkness seek to represent thought or
interior consciousness?
3. Analyze the extent to which the reliability of the narrator can affect the reader’s
understanding of events in Heart of Darkness.
4. Authors use the portrayal of characters who are somehow trapped or imprisoned as a
means to criticize society. Referring closely to Heart of Darkness, show to what extent
and in what ways this statement is true.
5. “Successful characterization involves taking the reader to the heart, to the inner core, of
an imagined person.” Discuss by what means and with what degree of success Conrad
has tried to “take you to the heart” of his characters in Heart of Darkness.
6. “The characters of a novel can only be individualized if they are set in a background of
particularized time and place.” How important is the setting of Heart of Darkness to the
development of the characters?
Length: 800 - 1,200 words (2 ½ to 4 pages)
Grading: You will be graded on the IB scale, meaning in accordance with the different IB criteria
for Paper 2 (see SWIFT website for this rubric.)
MLA: Please ensure that your paper is submitted in full MLA format.
* Note: for Criterion A and B, keep in mind that the “works” in this case will be just one – Heart
of Darkness. For Criterion B, keep in mind that there will be no comparison of works, because
your paper will focus only on Heart of Darkness. Criterion B, therefore, will be assessed entirely
based on how well you have understood the questions, and to what extent you have responded to
the demands of the question.
* Note: all prompts are slightly modified from released IB Literature Paper 2 exams.