57 pages • 1 hour read
Joseph ConradAn Outpost Of Progress
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1897A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Introduction
“An Outpost of Progress”
- Genre: Fiction
- Originally Published: 1897
- Reading Level/Interest: College/Adult
- Structure/Length: Approx. 18 pages; approx. 1 hour on audio
- Protagonist and Central Conflict: Two European men, Carlier and Kayerts, are working at a trading station in a remote part of the African jungle and become uneasy as they question the morality of their assignment.
- Potential Sensitivity Issues: Colonialism; slavery; racism; racist, ableist, and dated, offensive language; use of the n-word; suicide
Joseph Conrad, Author
- Bio: A Polish-British writer; born in 1857 in Ukraine; died in 1924; worked for the British Merchant Marines for 16 years, sailing around the world; his novella, Heart of Darkness, inspired the 1979 film Apocalypse Now
- Other Works: Heart of Darkness (1899); Lord Jim (1900); The Secret Agent (1907)
CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:
- The Hypocrisy of Western Colonialism
- The Moral Degeneracy of Human Nature
- Existential Loneliness
STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:
- Gain an understanding of the historical and cultural contexts regarding the European colonialization of Africa that drive Conrad’s concerns.
- Analyze short paired texts and videos to make connections and consider alternative viewpoints on The Hypocrisy of Western Colonialism.
- Plan and write a short narrative that features the use of setting as a symbol in order to demonstrate understanding of the impact of the setting in “An Outpost of Progress.
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