Monday, September 20, 2010

Chapter 8 Small Group Discussion

A question that I am still thinking about after the discussion is if Leopold could be connected to slavery in America. 

I think our discussion went well because there were some extremely good points brought up. We ended up touching on a lot more questions than we had originally planned, just in discussing one, we often came up with answers to other questions. Something I could do better is citing the text more. When I spoke, I didn't have much specific support for what I was saying.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

King Leopold Chapters 8 and 9

1. What was the main reason Leopold set up the Force Publique in areas far away from the soldeirs homes?

2. What was Leopold's main reason for setting up the Force Publique?

3. How does Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" tie into chapter 9?

Thursday, September 9, 2010

King Leopold's Ghost Reading #2

Quote about Leopold:
"The young heir took little interest in his studies, with the notable exception of geography. From the age of ten on, he was given military training: by fifteen, he held the rank of lieutenant in the Belgian Army, at sixteen captain, at eighteen major, at nineteen colonel, and by the time he was twenty he was a major general" (Hochschild 34).

Quote about Stanley:
"Stanley was always uncomfortable with anyone whose talents might outshine his own. From the twelve hundred men who applied to join the expedition, some of them highly experienced travelers, he chose three unsuitable companions" (Hochschild 49).

Quote of good writing:
"If we take a step back and look at Leopold at this moment we can imagine him the political equivalent of an ambitious theatrical producer. He has organizational talent and the public's good will, as proven by his successful Geographical Conference. He has a special kind of capital: the great public relations power of the throne itself. He has a script: the dream of a colony that had been running through his head since he was a teenager" (Hochschild 46).