Heart of Darkness Lit. Journal Essay Example
Heart of Darkness: Literary Vocabulary Journal
Directions: As you read Heart of Darkness, you will note examples of important literary devices used by Conrad in the text. First, find the definition and fill them in the table below. Then, find and example from the text. You can find definitions on the internet (using a literary terms dictionary). Or in a Literary Dictionary.
Online Literary Dictionary: http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_A.html
Term/Definition: Example from the text: Brief Explanation as to How Example creates Meaning in the Text: Page #:
Archetype: the original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies “I’ve seen the devil of violence, and the devil of greed, and the devil of hot desire; but, by all the stars! These were strong, lusty, red-eyed devils, that swayed and drove men - men I tell you.” The devil is used as the representation of evil and all that is immoral. You could say that it is often used as the basis for immorality. So, the usage of the devil is an archetype that has been used over and over. Page 23
Allusion: an implied or indirect reference especially in literature to something else “But there was in it one river especially, a mighty big river, that you could see on the map, resembling an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curling afar over a vast country, and its tail lost in the depth of the land.” “It charmed me.” This is an allusion to the Bible where Eve is seduced by the devil in the form of a snake to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. Despite God’s warning when he first created her that she mustn’t eat from that tree, she listened to the snake and ate from it thus learning about the evils of life like pain, embarrassment, and ‘darkness’ in general. Page 10 & page 11
Connotation: The extra tinge or taint of meaning each word carries beyond the minimal, strict definition found in a dictionary “The heart of the impenetrable darkness”
Directions: As you read Heart of Darkness, you will note examples of important literary devices used by Conrad in the text. First, find the definition and fill them in the table below. Then, find and example from the text. You can find definitions on the internet (using a literary terms dictionary). Or in a Literary Dictionary.
Online Literary Dictionary: http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_A.html
Term/Definition: Example from the text: Brief Explanation as to How Example creates Meaning in the Text: Page #:
Archetype: the original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies “I’ve seen the devil of violence, and the devil of greed, and the devil of hot desire; but, by all the stars! These were strong, lusty, red-eyed devils, that swayed and drove men - men I tell you.” The devil is used as the representation of evil and all that is immoral. You could say that it is often used as the basis for immorality. So, the usage of the devil is an archetype that has been used over and over. Page 23
Allusion: an implied or indirect reference especially in literature to something else “But there was in it one river especially, a mighty big river, that you could see on the map, resembling an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curling afar over a vast country, and its tail lost in the depth of the land.” “It charmed me.” This is an allusion to the Bible where Eve is seduced by the devil in the form of a snake to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. Despite God’s warning when he first created her that she mustn’t eat from that tree, she listened to the snake and ate from it thus learning about the evils of life like pain, embarrassment, and ‘darkness’ in general. Page 10 & page 11
Connotation: The extra tinge or taint of meaning each word carries beyond the minimal, strict definition found in a dictionary “The heart of the impenetrable darkness”