Heart of Darkness Section 2 Writing Assignment

Find a passage in Section 2 that “speaks” to you with regard to your essay.

Highlight and annotate 4-5 really good quotations from this passage.  “Really good” means that you could use the information to write one of the three essays in the writing assignment.  Then write a paragraph of commentary in which you incorporate the quotations you chose. 

DO NOT worry about a thesis yet.  DO NOT worry about a topic sentence.  Your goal is to find pertinent Diction, Imagery, and Detail and to write about how that’s connected to a topic.  We’ll make claims and assertions later.

Below is my example from Section 1.  The first document is the passage with my annotations; the second is the commentary I wrote.  I deliberately left it messy.  I’d love to tell you that I get it all right the first time through, but that would be a dirty lie.  Writing is hard.  Thinking is hard.  The two together are hard (squared.) 

Passage 1 Annotated

Commentary on Passage 1

I think you’ll need about 250 words of commentary to have done a thorough job.  This is due when you come to class next period — Tuesday, January 31(B) and Wednesday, February 1(A).

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Heart of Darkness Major Essay Assignment

Click below for the Essay Assignment:

Literary Criticism Essay

Below is a document of general reflections on the novel.  These aren’t all my thoughts; I’ve been collecting them from really brilliant students for 10 years.  It’s free — and maybe worth just what you’re paying for it — but if it helps you, it’s yours.

Reflections on Heart of Darkness

Below is the Reading Assignment document.  It has questions on it that might spur thinking if you need it.

Reading Assignment

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Book Analysis — Modern Drama

Your book analysis this six weeks will be 20th Century Drama.  I know it doesn’t “fit” the time period we’re working with in class, but these plays are much easier to read and, thus, balance Heart of Darkness pretty well.

Discuss these works with interpretive questions — those questions that require text to answer but which have no definite right/wrong answers.  Pay particular attention to how the playwright develops character.  That’s the backbone of any drama.

20th Century Drama Assignment

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Current Six Weeks Calendar

UPDATED 1/27/2012   Check back frequently.

“A” Day

“B” Day

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Check here before you ask for a recommendation

Guidelines for Asking for a Recommendation

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Basic Style Guide

Basic Style Guide for Written Work

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Useful Class Handouts

Course Expectations

Narrative Technique

Annotating a Text

Four Square Graphic for Commentary

Elements of Analytical Voice  (An overview handout of elements of the AP essay)

Basic Mechanics of Scaffolding the Argument  (This is the handout on “Word Glue” and “Topic Strings.”)

TPCASTT for Poetry Analysis

How to overcome the annoying presets on Word

Proofreading Marks  (Look here to decode the marks I make on your papers.)

Reduction Organizer for Literature

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