ENG 126 Heart of Darkness by Conrad Essay Outline

Pick one of these questions

1. How does greed reshape good intentions?

2. What is the relationship between civilization and savagery?

3. What role to do the women play in colonization?

4. Which (archetypal) characters survive in the heart of darkness? How or why? (best characters to use: Marlow, Harlequin, The Manager, Kurtz, and The Chief Accountant (and if you’re feeling fancy: the jungle)

Than create a outline like the one below. MUST USE 6 QUOTES FROM HEART OF DARKNESS AND 3 FROM THE SECONDARY SOURCES THAT WILL BE GIVING

1. COMPLETE INTRODUCTION (6-8 sentences) – make sure your thesis is in bold print

2. TOPIC SENTENCE and QUOTE (no more than 3-4 lines, absolutely NO block quotes in this essay) for 9 body paragraphs

3. A CONCLUDING SENTENCE

SAMPLE OUTLINE

Immigrants have been moving to the United States of America from foreign countries for centuries. Though assimilating is very important, some may argue that the process of assimilation strips away an immigrant’s personal identity. In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, Gloria Anzaldúa argues that the preservation of her Mexican culture, especially her language, is essential in holding on to her identity as a Chicana. On the contrary, in “Mother Tongue”, Amy Tan uses her childhood experiences with her Chinese mother to exemplify how their struggles with cultural and language barriers helped her accept who she is as a Chinese-American woman. How an immigrant reacts to the adversities faced while assimilating into American culture will determine how well she is accepted into American society, whether it be by refusing American culture in order to cling to her origin, or allowing a new culture to help her grow as a multi-cultural person.

Body Paragraph 1:

• Anzaldúa’s negative outlook on assimilation causes her to alienate herself from society.
• “Attacks on one’s form of expression with the intent to censor are a violation of the first amendment” (Anzaldúa 168).
• By viewing the expectation of assimilation as an “attack on her form of expression”, Anzaldúa is predetermining the fact that she will refuse to accept the English language in order to attempt to preserve her identity as a Chicana.

Body Paragraph 2:

• Anzaldúa’s closed mindedness and the pressure she receives from her Hispanic peers causes her to have difficulty assimilating into American culture.
• “’Pocho, cultural traitor, you’re speaking the oppressor’s language by speaking English, you’re ruining the Spanish language,’ I have been accused by various Latinos and Latinas”(Anzaldúa 169).
• The pressure to avoid assimilation not only comes from within Anzadúa, but also from her fellow Latinos.

Body Paragraph 3:

• Unlike Anzaldúa, Amy Tan allowed the pressure of adjusting to American culture to inspire her.
• “Fortunately, I happen to be rebellious in nature and enjoy the challenge of disproving assumptions made about me”(Tan 182).
• Tan writes about the fact that one of her employers told her that writing was her weakest skill, and how the experience pushed her to become a writer.

Body Paragraph 4:

• By accepting the fact that she will struggle in adjusting to cultural differences, Tan allows herself to open up and learn more than she would have if she alienated herself from American society.
• “Apart from what any critic had to say about my writing, I knew I had succeeded where it counted when my mother finished reading my book and gave me her verdict: ‘So easy to read,’”(Tan 182).
• By accepting assimilation, Tan allowed her relationship with her mother to grow.

Conclusion: TBD