Heart of Darkness

Use these activities to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity. 

Transpose Heart of Darkness to Another Setting

The key elements of Heart of Darkness’s story were famously adapted into a new setting—the Vietnam War—by the filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola in Apocalypse Now. Even before this, Orson Wells proposed a film adaptation in which a fascist dictator would represent Kurtz. Heart of Darkness has been adapted as operas, radio plays, video games, and other forms.

Now it’s your turn. Create an adaptation of Heart of Darkness that moves its key themes and plot points into a brand-new setting. Your final product will be a film “treatment,” which is a document that provides an outline or overview of a film. Your treatment will have a title, logline, story summary, and character descriptions.

Part A: Planning

1. Develop a list of key themes that your adaptation will convey. You do not need to cover every theme that Heart of Darkness covers, but you should choose at least two of Conrad’s themes—described in your own words—to include in your adaptation.

2. Brainstorm possible settings. What are the kinds of settings in place and time that might allow you to convey Conrad’s themes effectively?

3. Create a general outline of the key plot points that your adaptation will convey. Your adaptation does not need to mimic the minutia of Conrad’s plot exactly, but it should be recognizable as an adaptation of Heart of Darkness.

Part B: Writing a “Treatment”

1. Give your film a title and center it at the top of page one of your film treatment.

2. Write a logline for your movie. This is a one-sentence “teaser” of the movie’s premise. It should describe the setting and the conflict the main character faces. Place the logline below your movie’s title.

3. Write a 1-2 page story summary. Title this section “Summary.”

4. Write a 2-3 sentence description for each of the characters that appear in your summary. Title this section “Character Descriptions.”

Teaching Suggestions:

• This project can be assigned either to small groups or to individuals.
• Students with ADD and other learning challenges affecting executive function and attention will benefit from having this activity assigned in parts, with check-ins on interim products (such as the outline from Part A).

Paired Text Extension: For a look at the most well-known adaptation of Heart of Darkness, show students Francis Ford Coppola’s film Apocalypse Now and discuss with them how Coppola has transposed themes and plot points into the setting of the Vietnam War.