Heart of Darkness

Pg. 3-11

“Besides holding our hearts together through long periods of separation, it had an effect of making us tolerant of each others yarns,” (pg. 3). “He was a seaman, but he was a wanderer, too, while most seamen lead, if one may so express it, a sedentary life,”(pg. 6).

17 October 2007
These people are on a ship, where they must work together to survive. They all tolerate each other in every way. It is like a family, all of them must work together to make it work. The main protagonist is said to be a seaman, whom according to the books are people who live in one place and one place only, and serve the sea. But Marlow is a wanderer, he travels. It means that he does not want to settle and become like everyone else. He drums to his own beat.

“They grabbed what they could get for the sake of what was to be got. It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it, blind--as is a very popular for
those who take a darkness,”(pg. 8).

Its talking about the Romans and what they did to get to where they were. They murdered for things in great numbers. They would hurt anyone blindly as long as they want or got what they wanted. It is like tackling people in the dark, you just go with caring who you attack or kill. These people had no hearts, darkness replaced it. Kind of compared to the sea, it is violent and does not care who it hurts when aggravated because it is unstoppable.

Pg. 11-19

“She was determined to make no end of fuss to get me appointed skipper of a river steamboat, if
such was my fancey,”(pg.12). Calamites, “bad panic,”(pg.13). Deserted, mad terror.

18 October 2007

Captain Marlow is telling these five other guys, while they are waiting, stories about how he had gotten to where he is now. He tells how his aunt would do anything for him and how he was sort of in control of her, which says that too much over-confidence leads to failing. The words calamities, and bad panic, deserted, and mad terror talk bout an event, but infer that if Marlow goes around treating people they way he does all there will be is madness and chaos. He will be treated the way the chief was. Maybe not physical, but mentally, darkness will fill his heart.

“It is queer how out of touch women are,”(pg. 19). “I don’t know why-a queer feeling came over me that I was an imposter,”(pg. 19). “Smiling, frowning, inviting, grand, mean, inspired, or
savage,”(pg. 19).

Captain Marlow is explaining how they day has come for him to set off on his trip. But in this novel there is a sense of male superiority. For example, when he is with his aunt, he takes her comments as if she knows nothing about what he does and never will. Then feelings of not being ready or not earning a reward, the only reason he got that captain job was because one was dead, so he could have felt that he didn’t earn it, but was given it as a last resort. Those different words are used to show the different emotions going through one’s head when a dangerous situation is coming or will come.

Pg. 19-27

Isolation, uniformed, somberness, truth of things, “You could see from afar the white of their eyeballs glistening,”(pg. 21). “Faces like grotesque masks,”(pg. 21). Oppressive, “I saw the black people run,”(pg.23).

19 October 2007

There is much racism going on in the beginning of this novel. The racial profiling puts these African people in a state of depression and isolation. People see them as savages and point them out by what they can see, the whiteness of different body parts such as eyes. The captain describes them as ugly and black, while he calls the people who are white, people, and not white people. He doesn’t call the black people, people, but puts the title of black to differ them and show them as savages as uncivilized.

“I’ve seen the devil of violence, and the devil of greed, and the devil of hot desire; but, ball all the stars! These were strong, lusty, red-eyed devils, that swayed and drove men-men, I tell you,”(pg. 25).

The captain sees how some of the Africans are treated, locked down in chains, treated as if they are wild animals, so he compares these poor treated Africans and their masters to other things. He has seen many horrid things, but never none such as these. Marlow describes the masters as devils, to show that the darkness Marlow talks about is in them. They act just like the way they want to get what they desire. They treat the Africans so bad to fell greater, to feel as if they are gods.

Pg. 27-35

“Yes; I respected his collars, his vest cuffs, his brushed hair,”(pg. 28). “But in the great demoralization of the land he kept up his appearance,”(pg. 28). “Did not sting, but stabbed,”(pg. 29).

20 October 2007

Appearance in this novel seems to be a way to depict and sort people. Seems like Marlow has a perspective like many people today that people dressed up nice are civilized and good, those dressed in rags are poor and uneducated. At one point, Marlow says that these huge flies don’t sting, but stab, which might be a connection to the place where he lives. The place seems quiet, but when carefully analyzed, it’s a place that doesn’t hurt and put people down, but a place that tortures and kills. Not a small wound, but a big hole.

“He was obeyed, yet he inspired neither love nor fear, nor even respect. He inspired uneasiness. That was it! Uneasiness,”(pg. 34). “Provoking insolence,”(pg. 35).
This quotation explains that there are mutual, good people in this novel. People who do no give a flying flute about thing, and take no sides. This man that Marlow met was an authority figure, or is, and he was or is obeyed, but he gives people no sense of fear nor love. This man represents a figure hat is looked upon as a foundation for the structure of authority in this novel. He is obeyed and listened to, but it seems as if he takes no sides, just does the job and works as a base to keep the job going.

Pg. 35-44

“The word ivory rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed,”(pg. 37). “It has been hopeless from the very first,”(pg. 38). “The only real feeling was a desire to get appointed to a trading post where ivory was to be had,”(pg. 39).

22 October 2007

There is a theme in this novel where all that matters to these people that work in this African territory is ivory. To them, they will do anything to get the treasure they desire. It is almost a sin to only think, eat, breath, and sleep ivory. It can be said that the house burning up was almost a sign that goodies are not the only thing in this world that matters. These people desire ivory and need it. It is a drug addiction, sort of a poison that fills the head.

“I believed it in the same way one of you might believe there are such inhabitants on the planet Mars,” (pg. 43). “There is a taint of death, a flavour of mortality in lies,”(pg. 44).
People in this novel are not easily gullible to certain things. The know the differences between what is the truth to what is a lie. They have no imagination which goes back to being cold and having a heart of darkness. People who have this don’t believe in anything and have to fun time laughing or even remotely believing a story if the imagination meter is not filled by the power of a heart. When it comes down to lying, people enjoy it, they get a kick out of it. It is a moral thing to do, if one lies, one is moral.

Pg. 44-52

“No sensible man rejects wantonly the confidence of his superiors,”(pg. 45). “Inform me he feared neither God nor devil, let alone any mere man,”(pg. 46).

23 October 2007

It is saying that no man who want to be great and wants to live in a good-manner lifestyle must respect and listen to the superiors of “high rank” than them. So, if people such as Mr. Kurtz and Marlow do not want to end up as all the poor black people, they better listen to their superiors. The quote (second one) says “feared neither God nor devil, let alone mere man,” which ties in with the title of the book. To have no fear of God means to have no love for him, which mean’s one’s heart cannot get any darker than that. To fear no devil nor man means one is cold and has a heart which cares for on one but themselves.

“Their talk, however, was the talk of sordid buccaneers: it was reckless without hardihood, greedy without audacity, and cruel without courage,”(pg. 50).
The men of the time who are large and in charge are described. It talks about the ways they acted towards others and how their emotions are so expressionless that they intimidate very easily. They talked as cruel buccaneers who rarely talked at all, and when they did, they had a shrill in their voice that, just sounds evil and mean. Cruelness is there middle name.

Pg. 52-60

“Why not? Anything-anything can be done in this country,”(pg. 53). Endanger position, “Out last them all,”(pg. 53). Humanizing, improving, instructing, “Black display of confidence,”(pg. 54).

24 October 2007

Well, it is basically saying that there are no rules whatsoever, that anything can be done. Even if it is an endangering position, who cares? These men think like teenagers today, they think they are invincible to things/life and unstoppable. They humanize, improve, and instruct how and when they want, they show confidence in what they do, but a confidence with a display of cold, darkness, as if they have a heart of darkness. And believe in only ice cube of a heart.

“There was no joy in the Brilliance of Sunshine,”(pg. 55). “looked at you with a vengeful aspect,”(pg. 56). “We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness,”(pg. 58).
This novel is so far just been dark and evil. Not even sunshine can brighten up a day, seems like all everyone want to do in this novel is sit and stare with no emotion. Well, the heart of darkness is the forest in which the tribes of Black people live. It can be that is called the heart of darkness either because the tribe is black and have the same colored hearts, or because the men above the steamship hate those people and show hostility towards them.

Pg 60-68

“I assure you to leave off reading was like tearing myself away from the shelter of an old and solid friendship,”(pg. 63). Sober truth, “What did it matter who was manager?”(pg. 64).

25 October 2007

This is the moral part you can say of the novel. Marlow uses a book and subjects such as these to get away from everything around him, and escape. He gets sort of frustrated with the fact that titles such as manager, director are given to people even though others do or work harder than those give the title. We start to see s frustration change in the way Marlow see how folks with the title treat cruelly those without one.

“State of trance,”(pg. 65). Winchester, rotten hippo-meat, half-cooked dough.
When the word Winchester come to mind all that is thought of is death, hate, darkness, despair, and murder. This gun is a great symbol to the story. The story is dark and hateful just like this rifle was. The hippo-meat and half-cooked dough represents the black slaves and how they live in life. There life is like rotten hippo-meat treated badly and with a nasty taste behind it. With the half-cooked dough shows the life lived by the slaves, they live and are treated as half a person, half of nothing, while the white man is full.