Heart of Darkness Clip

The Heart of Darkness Mindmap

The Heart of Darkness Reading Notes

Setting: Mid 1800’s. Narrator and companions are on the River Thames and actual narration happens in Middle/Southern Africa

Part I:

The tale begins as a sailor tells of his story as a steamboat captain in his time in Africa while the entire company at hand waits for the waters to shift in the River Thames. The man gets a yearning to explore and through his family is able to secure a position as a steamboat captain for a trading company working in Africa. As he goes down, the French seem to fight some sort of war with the people of Africa as he sees their ships firing into the brush at some unknown enemy. Upon arrival at his trading station, he is told that his boat got sunk not more than a couple days ago and that it has been a year since his predecessor died on the job. He tries to be friendly and get the boat patched up but it seems like everyone else at the station is perfectly happy doing nothing and consume their days by petty one-upmanship. This is also due in part that it takes months to get the simplest useful supplies such as rivets into the station from the coast. Its not that the company doesn’t have any, he saw the rivets down there, but the transportation system from the coast to the station is unreliable at best.

Part II:

            The sailor gets his boat up and running and leads an Eldorado expedition into the jungle for a bunch of pilgrims with the side assignment in finding Mr. Kurtz, the trade manager in the area. The steamboat makes dreadfully slow time up the river. Along the way the expedition encounters many obstacles in the river including an eerie fog that makes them have to drop anchor and wait it out or risk running aground. They encounter some natives who on first encounter are friendly enough but then later run into a bunch that attacks the boat. Oddly enough however they are scared off by the blow of the boat’s whistle. They finally get up to the trading post to retrieve Mr. Kurtz, what remained of him at least.

Part III:

            Mr. Kurtz’s assistant tells the pilgrims what happened to Kurtz after all the ivory is loaded on board. Kurtz fell ill a couple times and he nursed him back to heath. In the process, with all the alone time Kurtz had, he went a little insane, slaughtering whole villages for ivory. He finally succumbs to another illness but not before leaving a lasting impression on the sailor and all those in the company. When the company does go back down river, the sailor gives his account about what happened in Africa but held all of Kurtz’s personal stories that did not involve the collection of ivory out of the report despite many demands. He passes out what few possessions to Kurtz’s cousin and lover. She startles the sailor because although it has been six months since his death, she is and forever will be in mourning for his loss.

Socratic Seminar Notes Summary

Socratic Seminar Notes Summary

            Free play is good because it forces the brain to create the rules for play as well as using detailed language to describe imaginary objects. It is better for kids to play with kids in free play rather than adults because adults can fill in the gaps that children can’t and therefore make the brain work harder when describing something to another child. When rules are set however and the child is unable to question the rule itself they learn less by not creating nor describing the rule itself.

            Guidelines and rules are important to set general boundaries so that a child will not do anything too dangerous but at the same time free enough where the child can experiment on their own within those limitations kind of like raising a colt in a corral instead of a stable.

How do we apply institutional knowledge to real world situations?

            We need to remix/change stuff to fit our lives and actually bridge the gap between school and life ourselves. A class like this creates the environment to experiment with the stuff we have learned and apply it to our lives and see how it works before it truly hits real life outside of school.

Geography used to be a hindrance to getting resources but is a problem no longer because of the information age we live in.

Paragraph #1: How can these concepts enhance your learning as you arrive at a moment when grades no longer matter?

            The idea of working the mind as a muscle by being creative re-enforces my ideas of mental flexibility. Essentially its spur of the moment do what you can with what your given stuff that will truly help us become as capable as we can. These concepts pretty much tell me there is no wasted information and that if I want to be the best I can then I have to use everything I’ve been giving to get there. I have a world of information at my fingertips and it’s my fault only if I don’t want to learn it to get me to some dream that could be a reality.

Paragraph #2: How can these concepts enhance your ability to master content for the AP exam and other hurdles you have yet to leap?

            Well, I can see the exam just like a hurdle and then try to figure out why it would someone take the time and effort to make that particular test. I could attempt to see the non-cash value in the test like the test maker who wrote it and therefore have some sort of meaning to me that goes beyond the test. Everything in creation held the interest of someone, even if that person was solely interested in making tests or exercises that are just as effective as any sleeping pill.

Remix of the Poem Analyses

Analysis Remixed -

Remix of the Sonnet and Remix Lectures

Remix of the Sonnet and Remix Lectures -

Atonement Literature Analysis

Atonement Literature Analysis -