English 207 –
Spring 2010
Essay 1 Questions –
Dr. Kate Scheel
This assignment is
for a short essay of approximately four pages in length (or 1000 words). The
format of the essay must conform to the English Department Style Guide or the
MLA style. All cited references to a text must be noted in your Work(s) Cited
page. For this assignment, you may refer to the first three novels on the
reading list, Kim, Heart of Darkness, and Passage to
The questions below
are to be used as guides to developing your own argument or claim about one or
more of the novels. That is, you will have to read through the questions
carefully and then use the question of
interest to you to shape a well-defined claim of your own. Your claim may
well disagree with the question proposed.
You are also free
to develop your own essay topic; however, you must clear this topic with your
tutorial leader in advance of writing the essay.
1. Identity can be
constituted in many ways, through nationality, religious affiliation,
ethnicity, age, occupation, and gender among others. In chapter eleven of Kim, Kim suffers an identity crisis when
he realizes that he is completely alone. He asks, “’Who is Kim-Kim-Kim?’”
(156). At the end of the pilgrimage, Kipling writes: “’I am Kim. I am Kim. And
what is Kim?’ His soul repeated it again and again.” (234). Consider whether
Kim’s identity crisis is resolved, and if so, by what means? In your
discussion, consider the ways in which Kim constructs his identity and whether
his identity changes over the course of the novel.
2. In Kim, Mahboub Ali warns Kim that for “it
is by means of women that all plans come to ruin and we lie out in the dawning
with out throats cut” (150). Certainly Kipling’s portrayal of women is limited;
the major female characters are older, often as seen as “withered and undesirable” (58) like the Kulu woman or potentially
lethal. Additionally, their significance is usually restricted to their utility
to male aims. Yet the characters of the Kulu widow; Huneefa, the prostitute;
and the woman of Shamlegh often perform important functions in the novel,
assisting Kim in some particular aspect of his journey. How do you reconcile
these two perspectives? How does the ability of these female characters to
influence events compare to that of the male characters? What kinds of models
of masculinity are offered in the novel by comparison?
3. In Heart of Darkness, Charlie Marlow states
his belief that women should be relegated to the sidelines of important
enterprises since they are unable to handle the truth. Yet, it appears that the
men of the station fail in numerous ways to address the reality of the
situation. Consider the characters of the women knitting, Marlow’s aunt,
Kurtz’s Intended, and the African woman on the beach and how their portrayal might
be seen to serve Victorian, patriarchal aims. Alternatively, compare the roles
of these women with the male characters in the novel and discuss Conrad’s
notions of gender roles. How might these portrayals serve Conrad’s perspectives
on progress and imperialism?
4. Edward Said has
argued that the West has constructed an identity for Asians or Orientals which
serves European and Western needs to “manage” the Orient. Consider how either Kim or Heart of Darkness fits this statement. In your discussion, consider
the author’s use of language to “map” the characters of Asian characters and or
Asian geography in the novel and how it serves colonial interests. Are there
moments where that portrayal is undermined or challenged? Are there ways in
which the colonized subjects use language to contradict Kipling’s portrayal or subvert
or work against colonial aims in Heart of
Darkness?
Alternatively,
consider how Forster’s portrayal of Orientals confounds the colonial
perspective of the colonized, looking both at the overt descriptions of Indian
characters relative to those of the Anglo-Indians, but also at the various ways
in which characters undermine the construction of themselves as ‘other’ through
their use of language.
5. In Aspects of the Novel, E.M. Forster
writes of two kinds of characters: “flat and round.” Flat characters are
“easily remembered”, are not changed by events and “never need reintroducing,
never run away, have not to be watched for development, and provide their own
atmosphere….” (73, 74). By contrast, “[t]he test of a round character is
whether it is capable of surprising in a convincing way. If it never surprises,
it is flat. If it does not convince, it is flat pretending to be round” (81).
Apply this test to Forster’s novel, A
Passage to India, and consider whether several characters of your choice in
the novel are ‘flat’ or ‘round.’ How might Forster’s portrayal of women and
colonized subjects – who are typically seen as ‘other’ within a patriarchal and
colonial perspective, contribute to Forster’s stand on imperialism?
6. In Heart of Darkness and A Passage to India, the landscape is
often anthropomorphized, becoming a character in its own right. Discuss how the
author’s portrayal of the landscape in one of these texts contributes to the
overall thematic concerns of the text. How might this depiction relate to
nineteenth century notions about ‘progress’ or gender or race?