Resource Author
WaddingtonResource Description
Topics for Paper Two
Heart of Darkness
1. As Hillis' article suggests, Marlow's narrative in Heart of Darkness is heavily informed by Biblical and religious imagery. How does this imagery function in the novel? What mood does it evoke? How does it extend to Marlow himself?
2. Although Heart of Darkness is largely a male dominated text, women play a vital role in Marlow's narrative. As we have discussed, women facilitate both Kurtz and Marlow's voyage to the Congo, but exactly how do they function in terms of the European imperialism that Marlow describes? Additionally, what is the African Princess' role in the text?
3. As has been mentioned repeatedly in class, Marlow is the central character in Heart of Darkness. Who is Marlow? Examine/ Trace an aspect of his personality and argue for how it affects our reading of Heart of Darkness. You might want to analyze his relationship to Kurtz or to his audience on the Nellie as it reveals something about Marlow the narrator. You could extend this question to include a discussion of how Conrad uses Marlow to comment on the nature on storytelling telling and writing in general.
4. How does Conrad invert or at least complicate the colonial enterprise that informs Marlow's journey in Heart of Darkness. Where/ What is the "Heart of Darkness"? How does Marlow complicate the binary oppositions - such as "us" and them" - that characterized colonial understanding of the world, and to what end? Are there similarities where there appear to be differences and/ or differences where there should be similarities? Are boundaries more fluid than they first appear (and visa-versa)?
5. How does nature and the concept of Eden function in Conrad's Heart of Darkness? Framed in Marlow's contorted narrative, the dense African jungle and its silent people provide an important foil to Marlow's Eurocentric perspective.
Lolita
1. On page 265 of Lolita Nabokov/ Humbert Humbert (H.H.) speaks directly about fictional characters. It is an important passage in that it makes an observation about literature in a text that is highly aware of itself as a written work of art: a fictional character is speaking about fictional characters. Does Humbert Humbert's character fit his own description of himself? How does your interpretation shed insight into the text? This question also extends to address the idea of Lolita as a self-conscious literary narrative: how does Nabokov use the form of the novel to comment on writing in general?
2. Humbert Humbert makes "mistakes" in his carefully constructed narrative. Do these mistakes jeopardize his authority or at least the credibility of certain parts or aspects of his story? For example ,on page 284 H.H. admits that in some ways he has no idea about Lolita's personality; consequently one questions how much of the previous narrative was a projection of H.H.'s feelings and thoughts. You might want to look at the cracks in Humbert Humbert's character to expose his hypocrisy. What lies behind the aloof, intellectual facade that H.H. constructs and how does this affect our reading of the book? Remember that it is not enough to say that H.H. is unreliable; your focus must be on how his faults inform our understanding of his character. A good place to start might be to ask, "How are we to read Humbert Humbert's account of Lolita?"
3. How is Lolita portrayed in the novel? Obviously Lolita is in many respects H.H.'s construction, but this does not means that Lolita is not an independent force in the novel that uses her name as its title. Is she a victim? temptress? victor? or even a object to be despised?
4. Examine family relations in Lolita. How do they explain/ influence the course of the novel? Charlotte's character is particularly fertile ground, especially as she remains a haunting figure throughout the book: what is the meaning of her haunting Humbert the Horrible? You may also want to examine Charlotte's relationship with her daughter as it establishes a pattern for Lolita's behavior.
5. Nabokov makes many references to the media - advertising, film, magazines, comics, television - throughout Lolita. What is Lolita's relationship to the media? Is Nabokov critiquing the mass media? If so, does this critique extend to American society as a whole? Does the media operate in an Orwellian manner? How does Nabokov navigate film as a competing genre to literature - what is the relationship between books and film?
6. Independent of Nabokov's opinions, Humbert Humbert's pretensions create an image and feel about America and American society. Select a particular aspect of the America that H.H. describes - hotels, shows, schools and so forth - and argue what cultural critique Lolita offers of mid-twentieth century America. You might also want to think in terms of America's relationship to Europe.