Achebe’s Response to Heart of Darkness

1. Achebe’s Response to Heart of Darkness

2. Potential Misunderstandings in TFA • What descriptions, actions, or beliefs does Achebe include, even though they may lead to the misperception that the Igbo are savages? • List at least 3 examples.

3. Potential Misunderstandings in TFA • Choose one example and look for complex passages that could lead readers to think that the Igbo are savages.

4. Achebe’s Response to Misperceptions • What does Achebe do to address possible misperceptions in that example? • Look for complex passages to quote. • Analyze passages.

5. Thesis • In response to Conrad’s portrayal of Africans as _____, Achebe ______. • While both Conrad and Achebe (describe a similarity), Achebe responded to potential misunderstandings of this by _______.

6. Thesis Example – Kathy’s • Conrad’s narrator ran into tribal Africans, which Conrad described as wild and barbaric. In contrast, Achebe wrote TFA, describing how the African people are not barbaric, but have their own set of laws, religion, and morals, making Africans look more like a civilization than an uncivilized group.

7. Thesis Example – Xavier’s • In Conrad’s novel Africans are portrayed as unintelligible savages that live in prehistoric time. The main response to this downgrading of Africans is Achebe’s novel, which portrays Africans specifically the Igbo people as great warriors and prosperous people.

8. While both authors describe violent behaviors in African culture,Achebe addresses Conrad’s portrayal of Africans as mere savages by depicting the Igbo as a sophisticated civilization whose citizens are driven by strict morals.

9. Essay Organization • If Achebe’s novel is a response to Conrad’s novel, which novel should you analyze first in your first body paragraph?

10. Revise • Thesis • One body paragraph about TFA