heart of darkness《黑暗的心》读书报告PPT精选课件
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大家有疑问的可以询问和交流大家有疑问的可以询问和交流可以互相讨论下但要小声点可以互相讨论下但要小声点kurtzsafricanmistress
Reading Report of Heart of Darkness
1
Outline
1. Plot 2. Social background 3. Character 4. Style 5. Symbolism 6. Theme 7. Reference
16
6.2 Evil of Imperialism
The story also exposes the clashes, the exploitation and barbarity between European and African societies during the 19th century colonial expansionism.
7
Kurtz：He is in charge of the most productive ivory station in the Congo. Kurtz becomes the focus of Marlow’s journey into Africa. He is the unique victim of colonization; the wilderness captures him and he turns his back on the people and customs that were once a part of him. Manager：Marlow’s direct supervisor, he is a hard, greedy man who values power and money above all else.
11
5.2 Title: Heart of Darkness
The title can be understood both literally and symbolically. Literally, the continent is dark and forbidding, with an unexplored heart (the Congo) in onrad’s prose is a difficult animal to wrestle. It seems long-winded and tedious, but is surprisingly poetic. 2). Although Heart of Darkness is rather short, it seems like a long read because there is surprisingly little action. 3). The text is very cerebral – that is, much of it happens inside Marlow’s head.
The “darkness” depicted clearly refers to the “darkest” side of human nature as seen in the brutal colonists and ivory traders illustrated in Heart of Darkness.
17
6.3 Journey into the Self
Heart of Darkness is structured as a journey of discovery, both externally in the jungle, and internally in Marlow’s own mind. The deeper he penetrates into the heart of the jungle, the deeper he explores within himself; by the climax, when Kurtz has been revealed for the disgrace he is, Marlow has also learned something about himself. And he returns to civilization with this new knowledge.
3
Marlow, an Englishman, took a foreign assignment from a Belgian trading company as a ferry-boat captain in Africa, essentially along Congo river. Marlow’s duty: He is employed to transport ivory downriver. However, his more pressing assignment is to find out Kurtz.
10
5. Symbolism
5.1 Congo River
Marlow’s journey on the Congo River can be said to represent a journey into one’s inner spirit. As Marlow progresses further up the river in his search for Kurtz, he begins to learn more and more about himself.
2
1. Plot
Based on Joseph Conrad’s own experience traveling up the Congo River into the African interior, Heart of Darkness follows the disturbing journey of English ivory-trading agent Marlow into the jungles of Africa in search of a mysterious man named Kurtz.
12
The symbolic meaning of “heart” in Heart of Darkness: geo-politically, “heart” is the badge of Dark Africa; ethically, it stands for the greedy hearts of the white colonizers; socialaesthetically, it symbolizes the civilized but depraved capitalist society where wealth and fame are considered the most important thing.
13
5.3 Ivory
The ivory symbolizes greed and the destructive nature of man. The managers and agents of the Company are so obsessed with obtaining ivory that they forget about their morals and so-called civilized ways.
6
3. Character
Marlow：The protagonist and main narrator of the story, he stumbles into Africa looking to sail a steamboat and rescuing Kurtz. Russian trader：Kurtz’s devoted companion, he is an idealistic explorer who has wandered to the Congo on a Dutch ship. He is so young that it is uncertain whether or not he fully understands what he is doing in Africa. He is more or less attracted to the glamor of adventure.
8
Kurtz’s African mistress：A beautiful woman loaded with jewelry who appears on the shore when Marlow’s steamer arrives at and leaves the Inner Station. She seems to exert an undue influence over both Kurtz and the natives around the station. Like Kurtz, she is an enigma: she never speaks to Marlow, and he never learns anything more about her.
4
Heart of Darkness exposes the myth behind colonization while exploring the three levels of darkness that the protagonist, Marlow, encounters— 1） the darkness of the Congo wilderness, 2 ） the darkness of the European’s cruel treatment of the natives， 3）the unfathomable darkness within every human being for committing brutal acts of evil.
5
2. Social background
Marlow’s adventure takes place in the Congo Free State, an area that at the time was the personal property of Leopold II, king of the Belgians. In 1899, when Heart of Darkness first appeared, the grim conditions that actually prevailed there and the grotesquely inhumane treatment of the African natives were becoming widely enough known to create an international scandal.
14
6. Theme Analysis
1. Darkness (title) 2. Evil of Imperialism (repeating images or symbols, e.g. ivory) 3. Self-discovery journey
15
6.1 Darkness
the dark motives of civilization: this symbolic title is a harsh criticism of colonial enterprise: the hypocritical veneer of imperialism. (Yet, the men who work for the Company describe what they do as “trade”, and their treatment of native Africans is part of a benevolent project of “civilization”.)
Reading Report of Heart of Darkness
1
Outline
1. Plot 2. Social background 3. Character 4. Style 5. Symbolism 6. Theme 7. Reference
16
6.2 Evil of Imperialism
The story also exposes the clashes, the exploitation and barbarity between European and African societies during the 19th century colonial expansionism.
7
Kurtz：He is in charge of the most productive ivory station in the Congo. Kurtz becomes the focus of Marlow’s journey into Africa. He is the unique victim of colonization; the wilderness captures him and he turns his back on the people and customs that were once a part of him. Manager：Marlow’s direct supervisor, he is a hard, greedy man who values power and money above all else.
11
5.2 Title: Heart of Darkness
The title can be understood both literally and symbolically. Literally, the continent is dark and forbidding, with an unexplored heart (the Congo) in onrad’s prose is a difficult animal to wrestle. It seems long-winded and tedious, but is surprisingly poetic. 2). Although Heart of Darkness is rather short, it seems like a long read because there is surprisingly little action. 3). The text is very cerebral – that is, much of it happens inside Marlow’s head.
The “darkness” depicted clearly refers to the “darkest” side of human nature as seen in the brutal colonists and ivory traders illustrated in Heart of Darkness.
17
6.3 Journey into the Self
Heart of Darkness is structured as a journey of discovery, both externally in the jungle, and internally in Marlow’s own mind. The deeper he penetrates into the heart of the jungle, the deeper he explores within himself; by the climax, when Kurtz has been revealed for the disgrace he is, Marlow has also learned something about himself. And he returns to civilization with this new knowledge.
3
Marlow, an Englishman, took a foreign assignment from a Belgian trading company as a ferry-boat captain in Africa, essentially along Congo river. Marlow’s duty: He is employed to transport ivory downriver. However, his more pressing assignment is to find out Kurtz.
10
5. Symbolism
5.1 Congo River
Marlow’s journey on the Congo River can be said to represent a journey into one’s inner spirit. As Marlow progresses further up the river in his search for Kurtz, he begins to learn more and more about himself.
2
1. Plot
Based on Joseph Conrad’s own experience traveling up the Congo River into the African interior, Heart of Darkness follows the disturbing journey of English ivory-trading agent Marlow into the jungles of Africa in search of a mysterious man named Kurtz.
12
The symbolic meaning of “heart” in Heart of Darkness: geo-politically, “heart” is the badge of Dark Africa; ethically, it stands for the greedy hearts of the white colonizers; socialaesthetically, it symbolizes the civilized but depraved capitalist society where wealth and fame are considered the most important thing.
13
5.3 Ivory
The ivory symbolizes greed and the destructive nature of man. The managers and agents of the Company are so obsessed with obtaining ivory that they forget about their morals and so-called civilized ways.
6
3. Character
Marlow：The protagonist and main narrator of the story, he stumbles into Africa looking to sail a steamboat and rescuing Kurtz. Russian trader：Kurtz’s devoted companion, he is an idealistic explorer who has wandered to the Congo on a Dutch ship. He is so young that it is uncertain whether or not he fully understands what he is doing in Africa. He is more or less attracted to the glamor of adventure.
8
Kurtz’s African mistress：A beautiful woman loaded with jewelry who appears on the shore when Marlow’s steamer arrives at and leaves the Inner Station. She seems to exert an undue influence over both Kurtz and the natives around the station. Like Kurtz, she is an enigma: she never speaks to Marlow, and he never learns anything more about her.
4
Heart of Darkness exposes the myth behind colonization while exploring the three levels of darkness that the protagonist, Marlow, encounters— 1） the darkness of the Congo wilderness, 2 ） the darkness of the European’s cruel treatment of the natives， 3）the unfathomable darkness within every human being for committing brutal acts of evil.
5
2. Social background
Marlow’s adventure takes place in the Congo Free State, an area that at the time was the personal property of Leopold II, king of the Belgians. In 1899, when Heart of Darkness first appeared, the grim conditions that actually prevailed there and the grotesquely inhumane treatment of the African natives were becoming widely enough known to create an international scandal.
14
6. Theme Analysis
1. Darkness (title) 2. Evil of Imperialism (repeating images or symbols, e.g. ivory) 3. Self-discovery journey
15
6.1 Darkness
the dark motives of civilization: this symbolic title is a harsh criticism of colonial enterprise: the hypocritical veneer of imperialism. (Yet, the men who work for the Company describe what they do as “trade”, and their treatment of native Africans is part of a benevolent project of “civilization”.)