Period 1:
Review Cannery Row
Share community maps
Period 2:
Review Heart of Darkness
Finish discussing "The Second Coming"
Reviewed Things Fall Apart
Go to: African Scramble and read The Dark Places on Earth and Racism in the Heart of Darkness. Please comment on THIS blog whether you agree/disagree and why. Consider what you know about postcolonial literature and the writers' positions as you respond.
Period 3:
Our Town work
Independent Film/Novel Project selections due
Period 5:
Writing Prompt: "If I could..."
Share/Respond
Work on own writing
Thought for the day...
"We never know how high we are
Till we are asked to rise
And then if we are true to plan
Our statures touch the skies"
- Emily Dickinson, "We Never Know How High We Are"
4 comments:
Raciam in the Heart Of Darkness:
I do not think that this book is racist against black people. I just think that Conrad was telling a story about what happened and thats how things were. Kurtz did not go there to rule the natives, the natives choose him to be the "god" and worship him like they did.
The Dark Places Of Earth:
I agree with Achebe and Conrad about civilization. I think that if there is a place that his a set of "rules" and someone to lead them they are considered civilized. I think that because just because everything does not run smoothly and/or doesn't have places to buy stuff does not mean they aren't civil. As long as there is a way to go about things, then it is civilized.
I agree that this book can be considered by some insulting, especially if they are of a different race. Within Heart of Darkness, the black characters are not given names, and are treated as ignorant people who don't have values, and through Kurtz's own admission, need to be taught to be civilized.
This is not true. In Things Fall Apart, we learned that the Umuofian tribe, as well as other tribes, are civilized just like any other group of people. They have rules that they live by, a judicial system, and ways to provide for their families. I can see how Achebe would consider Conrad's writing to be racist. However, I am not sure if Conrad necessarily meant his writing to be that way; he didn't go to the jungle to pay attention to the people, so he might not give them as much description in the book as he did the nature.
In The Dark Places of the Earth, this writer describes people very much in Conrad's style. They merely describe what happened, not taking into account people, their values, or their way of life.
I am not quite sure who I agree with. Achebe makes some valid points, based on his perspective and his culture, but at the same time, Conrad does too. I think how someone views what is being written on the page depends on how they view the overall tone of the book and how they feel about it.
I don't think that the book "Heart of Darkness was racist. There was not much said about black people. There was more emphasis on Kurtz and the exploration. Kurtz became friends with them and was trying to help them out. I get what Achebe is saying but i think that he is overreacting.
"The Dark Places of the Earth" is a bad thing.The Indians are being forced from their home. It is bad but it is in the past, and if it didn't happen then we would not have all of the land that we have today.
Heart of Darkness may be considered racist by some, including Achebe. Achebe even states "I am talking about a story in which the very humanity of black people is called into question." (Africa Scramble, Allen Webb) However, in my opinion, it isn't the humanity of black people that is questioned in Heart of Darkness, but humanity as a whole. For instance, The native cannibals, who are black, appear in the story as more civilized than the white pilgrims. People may say that Heart of Darkness is racist, but I don't see it.
I don't really understand the second entry we had to read. It's talking about dark places on earth, and if we take into consideration what Conrad wrote in Heart of Darkness, the dark places would be symbols for uncivilized areas. At least, that's what I thought before I read it. However, upon reading it feels completely different.
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