As part of our ‘Ask the Expert Tutor’ series, we will be discussing Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness. This text is frequently studied at IBDP.

Heart of Darkness is a 1902 novella (or short novel) by Joseph Conrad. It is considered a seminal work of early twentieth-century literature, and thus is frequently selected for study at IB Literature. It recounts the story of Charles Marlow, a steamer captain, and his assignment to a Belgian colony in Africa. By turns condemnatory of the imperial mindset, and reinforcing racist stereotypes, Heart of Darkness forces readers to confront how colonialism destroys our sense of collective humanity and erodes our sanity.

As a novella, Heart of Darkness is short but dense. The ways Conrad constructs a vivid depiction of colonialism and the growing madness of Colonel Kurtz can prove challenging for IB students to analyse and appreciate. The IB thoroughly encourages candidates to appreciate this text for both its literary and thematic merit, as well as for the ways it connects to broader societal and contextual questions about imperialism and exploitation. This can make for fascinating classroom discussions, and be a great source of inspiration for the Internal Oral (IO) and Higher Level Essay, but it can also prove a challenge for those IB students wishing to establish a basic understanding of Heart of Darkness.

Heart of Darkness is also a very useful vehicle for IB candidates to learn more about literary criticism, and the way different schools of thought can impact our interpretation of a work. Famously, Nigerian critic and novelist, Chinua Achebe, levelled harsh criticism towards Conrad’s novella in a 1975 public lecture. Achebe refers to Conrad as a “thoroughgoing racist”, and criticises the novella for its refusal to grant “human expression” to the African characters in the text.

Achebe’s lecture is an example of post-colonial criticism, a school of academic criticism that encourages readers to consider how imperial mindsets are centred in literature, to the detriment of colonial subjects who were exploited by the system. Post-colonialists argue that this mentality contributes to maintaining existing unjust power structures, and it is the obligation of literary critics to interrogate our assumptions about global hierarchies.

Achebe’s criticism of Conrad is often IB students’ first encounter with post-colonial criticisms of texts studied at school, and it’s a great opportunity to see how people’s lived experiences shape their readings of literature. Appreciating and discussing a text at IB does not necessarily mean that students agree with its content, but rather it is an exploratory exercise, and Heart of Darkness forms a great jumping off point for these discussions and debates.

IB students looking to earn top marks in response to Conrad’s novella should aim to incorporate differing and even multiple interpretations of the work into their analysis, as it shows a personal (i.e. unique) and considered response to material studied at school.

For an idea of how multiple interpretations can be used to enhance an IB student’s essay, let’s take a look at a sample response from an IB English Literature student.

Question: “Art is on the side of the oppressed.” Evaluate the means by which two works in your study either confirm or raise questions about the validity of this assertion.

Response: Conrad’s depiction of the injustice of colonialism confirms the assertion that art is on the side of the oppressed. The author depicts Marlow as suitably horrified when confronted with the cruelties of imperial exploitation. For example, Conrad describes the native population as feeling “pain, abandonment, and despair” at being forced to work in a chain gang. The triplet, ending on “despair” reinforces to the reader the human feelings of the prisoners in response to their treatment. However, while Conrad is undoubtedly critical of these practices in his narration, it must nevertheless be acknowledged that he prioritises the disgust of his protagonist, dehumanising the prisoners by referring to them merely as “black shapes”. This failure to acknowledge the full humanity of the colonial subject confirms Achebe’s assertion that Conrad’s ultimate interest is in the moral and mental degradation of white men, rather than the effects of imperialism on the exploited population. Thus, while Conrad’s work is aligned sympathetically with the oppressed, he does not make their interests a central concern of his art.

This IB Literature student has produced a sophisticated response, incorporating both a good thematic interpretation of the text, as well as beginning to include language analysis. However, the language analysis could use further development, as at the moment it remains rather cursory in comparison to the attention paid to thematic concerns. It is certainly a positive sign that they have used Achebe’s interpretations to enhance their argument, but quoting directly from Achebe’s lecture would have really pushed this response to Heart of Darkness into the highest bands of the mark scheme.

At BartyED, we have coached countless GCSE, IGCSE, A-Level, and IB learners in all aspects of literary analysis. Our expert tutors are trained to recognise and target areas of weakness in students so as to assist these young learners in improving their critical thinking and writing skills. If you believe that you or your child, be they studying GCSE, IGCSE, A-Level, or IB, could benefit from the guidance of an experienced tutor, please reach out to us today by phone (+852 2882 1017) or email (enquiries@bartyed.com).

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