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"The horror! The horror!"
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| | 0 | 2/5/2012 8:52 PM | many things we say |
| | 1 | 2/5/2012 4:57 PM | Exterminate all the Brutes First of all, I just want to make it known that I think Kurtz has gone crazy, that the wilderness has taken over, and that he has sided with the Natives. That is why he is able to produce such good ivory returns and why the Natives love his so much, or at least according to the Russian. Anyway, near the end of Chapter 2, Marlow reads in Kurtz’s journal that he wanted to civilize the natives. “Scrawled evidently much later, in an unsteady hand,” he writes, “Exterminate all the brutes!” Since it was written later, when Kurtz was feeling unsteady, I believe the brutes he is referring to are the Europeans. It wouldn’t make since for his to say to civilize the natives, then to kill them all. So this must have been after the wilderness took over Kurtz and he sided with the Natives. He has had a change of heart, and is now fighting against the Europeans, siding with the wilderness.
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| | 0 | 2/5/2012 4:23 PM | Kurtz taken over by the wilderness
In the beginning of Chapter 3, it says, in reference to Kurtz, “Bu the wilderness had found him out early, and had taken on him a terrible vengeance for the fantastic invasion. I think it had whispered to him things about himself which he did not know, things of which he had no conception till he took counsel with this great solitude – and the whisper had proven irresistibly fascinating. It echoed loudly within him because he was hallow at the core.” This is not the only time in the novel that Kurtz is referred to as hollow. What I think this meant is that the civilized part of Kurtz is only a small layer on him; that he wasn’t, or couldn’t be, civilized to the core. Generally speaking, I think Conrad is saying that this applies to everybody. Because his civilized part is only a façade, it is easy for the wilderness to take control of him. So, after being in the wilderness for so long, it took control, breaking though the civilized shell he once was. |
| | 0 | 2/5/2012 4:23 PM | Why a River?
Reading this book, I was asking myself why Kurtz was travelling my river. Despite being more historically plausible, I think it is create a barrier between Kurtz and the wilderness. When he is on his boat in the river, he is separate from the nature and the Natives. When he gets off, he can quickly run back to his boat if something scares it off, so the boat represents civilization that he can take along with him as he journeys deeper and deeper into the jungle. If he were travelling by foot, there would be no safe hold for him. SO when the boat breaks down, it is meant as more than just a tactic for the plot, it is to symbolize the weakness of civilization in the face of wilderness. |
| | 0 | 2/5/2012 4:22 PM | “Try to be civil, Marlow” Near the beginning of Chapter 2, one of the listeners of Marlow’s story interrupt him, saying, “Try to be civil, Marlow.” Right before this, Marlow takes a jab at his listeners, saying, “I felt often its mysterious stillness watching me at my monkey tricks, just as it watches you fellows performing on your respective tight-ropes for – what is it? half-a-crown a tumble-.“ Marlow creates a barrier between him and his listeners, representing everybody else, because he think he is better than him. Also, I have noticed that Marlow thinks he is better than the expedition workers in Africa. Is anybody else getting the feeling that Marlow has a superiority complex, reflected both in the way he talks to his listeners and the people in Africa?
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| | 0 | 2/5/2012 4:22 PM | Talk Between Manager and Uncle In the beginning of Chapter 2, Marlow overhears a talk between the station manager and his uncle. They talk about how Kurtz is getting sick. Marlow says he heard the uncle say, “The climate may do away with this difficulty for you.” I interpreted that as Kurtz may just die off. I was kind of alarmed by how little sympathy they had for him, saying that if he dies, it would be a solution. After all, isn’t Kurtz supposed to bring back a lot of ivory? Kurtz does seem a little haughty, rejecting the assistant they sent down for him earlier. Only after the uncle learns that Kurtz recently sent back a large shipment of fine ivory do they want to help him. Also, they hear that another ivory trader is in Kurtz’s area and want him hanged, presumably because they don’t want any competition for him. This all leads me to believe that the manager, nor anybody else, only likes Kurtz for the ivory, and therefore money, that he brings back. They are using him for financial gain and power, although they can’t stand him personally.
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| | 10 | 2/5/2012 3:44 PM | "The Hollow Men" Here is Eliot's poem. Respond as you will!
"Mistuh Kurz - he dead."
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| | 10 | 2/5/2012 3:40 PM | Knowledge is power In first hour we talked about the scene where the ship is firing at the land, although there isnt a seen enemy. I saw this as an image to show the europeons power over the africans, and their main source of power over the natives is knowledge and technology. If the Natives of Africa were as advanced as the Europeons at the time, it would have been and even sided battle, and we wouldnt see such astrocities happen in the African continent. |
| | 9 | 2/5/2012 3:34 PM | Defining Horror On Thursday when we were asked to describe horror and how it is played with throughout the novel, our group realized that unlike the previous books we've read, the "horror" parts of this novel are not as outright and obvious to catch. We decided that the most horrifying thing about the novel is the way that the "civilized" characters and the "savages" are almost defined incorrectly. The way that Marlow, Kurtz, the accountant and the manager deal with things in the jungle, how they think they rule the land and are fueled by greed and power, is even more savage than the natives themselves. They resort back to their Id nature, the most beastial part of us, and prove that the farther you are from civilization the more of your Id shows through you. While they may look at themselves as being proper and civilized, when they are thrust into a brand new environment they really show who they are. |
| | 4 | 2/5/2012 3:31 PM | What Saves Us is The Devotion to Efficiency pg 4 Woaaaaaah. thats cold conrad.
I mean really, really cold.
especially to the british. because the british considered themselves exemplary of a strict code of patriotism and morality, right? what should mark a brit is the mark of "civilization" which should be the mark of tradition, loyalty and ethics. Perhaps even emotion and religion. but no.
marlow says the only thing keeping the brits (and all of the "civilized") from a stark madness (after all, that is what a conflicting fascination and repulsion and confusion usually is) is inefficiency.
cold calculating devotion to profit and timeliness. |
| | 5 | 2/5/2012 3:23 PM | The Helmsman I found Marlow's relationship with the helmsman to be quite bizarre. At first, he seems to be quite estranged from the man, calling him the "most unstable kind of fool he had ever seen". After he died, however, it appears that Marlow had some sort of attraction, or at least fondness towards the man. Any of his positive feelings were certainly masked by his reaction to the helmsman's sudden death. Marlow was suspiciously swift to remove his bloody shoes and socks, and even go so far as to dump the body overboard. Definitely an odd glimpse into Marlow's mind... |
| | 9 | 2/5/2012 2:39 PM | Altruism Earlier in the week 1st hour was discussing the idea of altruism in Heart of Darkness. Altruism is the act of doing something nice for others selflessly. We then began to debate whether or not altruism really existed. Is it possible to do something kind for someone else without always unconsciously thinking "maybe if I do this, something good will happen to me." In other words, can altruism exist without the constant thought of receiving something in return (good karma)? |
| | 3 | 2/5/2012 2:04 PM | Candle
When describing the manager on page 21, Marlow notices that the “young aristocrat had not only a solver-mounted dressing case but also a whole candle all to himself.” In first hour, Mr. Chisnell informed us that at this time there were no candle in Africa, they were found in Europe at had to be imported from there. The significance that he had a candle shows that the manager is taking part of the western world with him. He is not going to let the wilderness and savagery overtake him, or at least he is going to try. This is significant because Marlow described the sheer power of the wilderness, suggesting that even civilization cannot conquer it. It will be interesting to see if any of the Europeans, especially the managers and the like, will be driven mad by the wilderness, to see if the power of the wild can break even them. |
| | 5 | 2/5/2012 1:37 PM | Dr. Seuss On page 6 I noticed a sentence that remind me of the children writer Dr. Seuss. There is no signifiance but I thought it was interesting, "I felt somehow I must get there by hook or by crook." The phrase means "by any means necessary," suggesting that one not be concerned with morality when accomplishing goals. |
| | 7 | 2/5/2012 12:56 PM | The Powers of Darkness On page 44, the phrase "powers of darkness" was mention. This phrase is very interesting to me because darkness is really the all powerful. Without light we are nothing and we have nothing. In the darkness, we are powerless, we control nothing. We are extremely limited in the darkness and we really cannot survive in it. Not only humans would be doomed in the darkness but almost all creatures would fail to exsist in constant darkness. Try to imagine life without light, there would not be one. This is just a very interesting thing to think about and scary too. |
| | 5 | 2/5/2012 11:51 AM | Unhuman On page 13, Marlow is talking about seeing the black people that were called criminals. The images that we read about of these peple are terrible. They are just not being treated very well at all. It is as if they are not human anymore. These people even act as if they are not human anymore, with no emotions like when they walked by Marlow with the "death-like indifference of unhappy savages." These people have been treated so poorly and are so used to being treated like animals that they have nothing left. They have no more feelings and cannot act like normal people anymore because they are so far removed from that state and it is just very sad to see. |
| | 4 | 2/5/2012 11:48 AM | Quote pg 38 On the top of page 38, this quote really intrigued me. "No fear can stand up to hunger, no patience can wear it out, disgust simply does not exist where hunger is;" In this passage Marlow was using words like hunger and unappatizing. So I tried to make a comparison, maybe fighting the feeling of hunger is like being in a new starnge place, like the ship and jungle and fighting the feeling of being scared. "It takes inborn strenght to fight hunger properly." It also takes person strenght to fight the feeling of being nervous. You can't be taught to fight hunger, and you can't be taught to be brave. One does it on their own. Thoughts? |
| | 11 | 2/5/2012 11:41 AM | civilization Today in class, we talked about how we kept saying that Natives were savages and uncivilized but who was to say that they were that. The way they lived their lives and the things they did were their own civilization. It is not how we live, so we saw it as savage. This made me really think about how we judge things before we actually think about it or really try and understand. We label things as being below us before we even really understand what is going on. This concept makes me upset because it happens everyday and it is so ignorant. |
| | 4 | 2/5/2012 12:22 AM | Words On page 46 there is mention of words and how powerful they can be. With the right sequence of words coming from the right mouth, a speech of any sort can have great effects on a person. Words can send such a great message even if it is only a few words that only make one little sentence. Words are our way of communicating and without them life would be really difficult. There is no limit to the power of words and if a person knows how to manipulate them well, then he/she will be able to do almost unlimited things. The possibilities are almost endless with the right words. It is just so funny, the things we take for granted, if only we thought about things like this all the time we would realize what life would be like without the little things. |
| | 4 | 2/4/2012 11:02 PM | Colors
I noticed on page 7 that the building Marlow describes is filled with all the colors of the rainbow, it is an attempt to erase some of the dark and gloomy feeling visitors receive from this place. The people and objects surrounding Marlow in the building are still dark and creepy. The old knitters in the outer room have black yarn that they use, and the knitters actions are described as feverishly. The old lady sitting in the chair was given physical traits similar to a witch; a cat on her lap starched white affair on her head, a wart on her cheek, and spectacles that sat on the tip of her nose. The author is juxtaposing the bright colors and the dark creepy people. Even though the place is covered in color he still receives a creepy vibe. |
| | 7 | 2/4/2012 10:00 PM | Point of View What makes Heart of Darkness different, and rather odd, is the point of view it is written in. The book is technically told by an unknown "narrator", but is actually quoting another man (Marlow) throughout the entire story. That's why, if you haven't noticed, every paragraph is in quotation marks, even the parts without dialogue. This seems like an odd way to write a book, and it reminds me of Turn of The Screw, where it starts off from the perspective of another man reading the Governess' journal. I suppose it gives a change in perspective of what we would normally expect, but I don't really see the advantages of writing the whole book this way. |
| | 4 | 2/4/2012 8:37 PM | Imperialism So far I've noticed that while Marlow is traveling and coming in contact with the island his eyes wonder straight to the cruelty and torture that he witnesses, with African Americans in shackles walking along the beach; to them walking above the shore balancing objects on their heads. What must be realized is that during this time this is what colonial enterprise is! This is how they make their money and conduct their "trade". I've only read Chapter one so far, so this oppression and imperialism I'm sure will be seen in the latter parts of this novel.
Other ideas or thoughts?!
For those who don't know what imperialism is....
"Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." Imperialism, as described by that work is primarily a Western undertaking that employs "expansionist, merchantilist policies" -Wikipedia |
| | 0 | 2/4/2012 8:32 PM | This Week's Coffee Hour http://www.mediafire.com/?zbt1z10b1i8g9dh
http://www.mediafire.com/?hcngjfs29pxb9o9
Freida and I talking about HoD - the download aren't full of spam or anything. |
| | 0 | 2/4/2012 6:53 PM | Kurtz's Letter Earlier this week in first hour we were discussing the letter that Kurtz sent that had the line in it "exterminate the brutes". I think that this line is a lot more than a command form Kurtz, I think that it represents his philosophy. When Kurtz rose to power in his own domain of natives I think that he must have removed the difficult members so as not to have an uprising. Similarly to how Fresleven was trying to "exterminate" the village chief for insubordination. It's sort of like backward Darwinism: in order to maintain control, only the weak should survive. |
| | 1 | 2/2/2012 9:38 PM | Time Magazine and Capitalisms Efficency So, in the newest times there is an article about "fixing capitalism" and it addresses the idea of efficency driving mega corporations and the inappropriateness of treating them as people, their lack of moral center etc etc... it also addressed the foresight of adam smith on this, and some previous examples...the term efficiency really got me and made me think of the inhumanity what essentially the preliminary to corporations exhibited in the congo.... thoughts? |
| | 2 | 2/2/2012 9:11 PM | A Poor Decision So it surprised me when the crew assimilated cannibals into the line the of boat workers. I sympathized with and understood the rational fear coming from Marlow. It shocked me that the cannibals were holding back, like the unexpected "restraint from a hyena prowling amongst the corpses" (38) but not eating any. I think that the whole passage of restraint was a foreshadowing of what kind of madness we can expect to see from such unusually placid men. I foresee some outbreak soon, possibly one that is prompted by tossing good meat overboard.. be it hippo or man... |
| | 3 | 2/2/2012 9:04 PM | The Fascination with the Abomination
On page 4, Marlow talk about “the fascination with the abomination.” This thought provoking quote is strategically placed in the beginning of the novel, so I’m trying to apply it to the different situations he is in during his experiences in Africa. He definitely seems fascinated by the wilderness and the natives. He talks with such description and powerful imagery, and he is not talked back by even the more grotesque parts of his journey. This fascination with the disgusting and outrageous I think applies in our world today. For example, the Saw movie series, showing grotesque ways of dying, has been quite successful. I’m not sure why people are attracted to this, perhaps it is cathartic. Any ideas? |
| | 3 | 2/2/2012 8:53 PM | Not Human
From the reading in the first chapter, it has become obvious to me that Marlow does not think the Africans are human. On a side note, I do however think he holds more compassion for them than other Europeans. Aside from the continuous use of the word creatures to refer to them, he calls them a bundle of acute angles. This is an interesting way to talk about somebody. It is a very mathematical and formulated way of talking, as if showing Marlow is talking very objectively and not letting his emotions influence his judgment. Calling somebody a shape makes them seem like a just a thing, perhaps more degrading than a creature. I can’t seem to find where, but he refers to the Africans in Chapter 1 as dark thing wasting away by disease, or something to that affect (please correct me if I am wrong, or post the page number). Marlow, however is somewhat intrigued by this, and seems like he wants to know more about them, to observe them more. |
| | 4 | 1/29/2012 9:39 AM | Did you Notice? Did anyone else notice the constant emphasis on color? There are little hints everywhere! I was wondering if anyone has a guess on what the meaning behind the emphasis is? |
| | 1 | 1/28/2012 2:20 PM | Enemies
On pages 13 and 14 Marlow uses a boat load of words to describe the Natives he sees. He first views them as enemies, like they are at war or have somehow sabotaged a settlement or supplies then he moves on to criminals. The natives have not done anything wrong all they do is work for them. He then incorporates the words lusty, red eyed devil like they have been sent here from Satan and are working with him. He finishes describing them with the words black shadows of disease and starvation, sense they have no more strength they are unable to hurt them so they are nothing, they stop fearing them once they reach the edge of death. |
| | 5 | 1/28/2012 2:16 PM | The snake A few weeks ago in 6th hour we talked about the snake on page 5. We discussed the different meanings of the snake. There were many interpretations such as satan in the garden of Eden, or a male phallic symbol of dominance. Looking back I think that it was more of a foreshadowing of evil than a dominance symbol, although both could be argued. The whites are obviously in control, dominating the Africans, but there is also a lot of evil going on as well. |
| | 1 | 1/22/2012 6:43 PM | Op! Little lost! Question everyone, on page 43, DID KURTZ DIE?! Marlow said he travled all his way for the sole purpose of talking with Kurtz. Then he proceeds to say 'now I will never see him,' and 'now I will never shake his hand.' I'm positive someone died because Marlow talked about throwing this very fat man off the ship and watching him role twice in the water, and then never seeing him again. Since this book is a bit confusing, I'm just not sure if this was someone of importance, like Kurtz, or a random shipmate. |
| | 0 | 1/22/2012 5:14 PM | White Thread
On page 14, Marlow observes a white thread around on of the natives’ neck. He notes, “He had tied a bit of white worsted round his neck – Why? Where did he get it? Was it a badge – an ornament – a charm – a propitiatory act? Was there any ides at all connected with it? It looked startling round his black neck, this bit of white tread from beyond the seas.” Maybe it is just because I just finished my IM essay, but to spend that long describing such a simple object in a book so short surely has large significance behind it. The first thing I noticed is that he tied it himself, so I doubt it is a symbol of white oppression, but a white thread around somebody’s neck does convey images of power and control by the whites. The comment from “beyond the seas” makes me think he got it from the Western World. So it is more a symbol of the whites increasing their civilizational boundaries, or at least trying, and it surely fits the subject of the book, the exploration and exploitation of Africa and its inhabitants. |
| | 0 | 1/22/2012 5:13 PM | Futile Europeans
In Chapter 1, when Marlow is explaining how the French are attacking on the coast of Africa. From the way he describes their attacks, “Pop, would go one of the six-inch guns; a small flame would dart and vanish, a little white smoke would disappear, a tiny projectile would give a feeble screech – and nothing happened,” the French are powerless over the wilderness. He says their attacks on the continent couldn’t do anything. There are two ways I was thinking about this. The first is that the French are not strong enough to overtake the natives. The African, with the wilderness on their side are simply too strong and immense. The second, which is the one I am leaning toward, draws a parallel between the French and the Africans. Instead of the French vs. Africans, it is Humans vs. Wilderness. The wilderness has consumed the natives, rather than the natives using the wild to their advantage. Any thoughts? |
| | 8 | 1/22/2012 1:16 PM | Decaying Humanity "I came upon a boiler wallowing in the grass, then found a path leading up the hill... railway truck laying there..."
These are seem to be symobls for industry, or humanity. But humanity might be to broad of a word... Think about it like this, these objects are what we "are", as humans (non-savages) what we are used to everyday, our lifestyle. But are they just an artifical excuse? We say that these are the means of our survival, that inner savagry is something we don't want to achieve. Does that mean we cannot live without this advancement? Are we trapped inside civilization? |
| | 3 | 1/22/2012 1:06 PM | Kurtz's Oil Painting I'm not entirely sure what the other classes have discussed, but I haven't seen this pop up on the boards, so I thought I'd start it up. This painting is described at the end of pg. 21 as "representing a woman, draped and blindfolded, carrying a lighted torch." I thought this to be such a beautiful image, and if I had any ability of my own, I would've gone out and painted it. Anyways, we talked in class about the idea of being blindfolded, yet holding a torch... a bit counter intuitive. We also talked about the image of the robed woman, and agreed that she resembles a mixture of Lady Justice and Lady Liberty, one of whom is blindfolded, and the other carries a torch. We connected these images to the theme of darkness in the book, and how this civilized iconic woman is illuminating the darkness, while she herself is still blindfolded. |
| | 4 | 1/22/2012 11:24 AM | The Heart of Darkness On page 31, Marlow is describing going "deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness." He is penetrating into the forest now and is in the middle of the darkness. He says that it is very quiet there and this makes me think of the idea of darkness. The darkness is the unknown and that is essentially what he is getting into. In the dark, he cannot see anything and does not know what is out there and the quietness makes it even more haunting to think about. Darkness, to us, is a scary thing because as humans we want to know our surroundings and we want to always know what is going on. The darkness, though, does not allow this and that is why we do not like the darkness. I just thought that this was an interesting thing to think about. |
| | 4 | 1/22/2012 11:21 AM | Charmed Life "[N]o man here bears a charmed life"... how eerie. I've been attempting to read this book more like Invisible Man, and assume that each of these lines has much more meaning to it, and I think this particular quote is a good candidate. Think of the conflict that was going on at the time: there were those who supported exploration and those who reject exploitation. In this case, one is the other. So this quote reflects both, perhaps. There are those who explore and can not truly bear the evil actions that he is doing to survive, and there's the obvious case of the natives. Neither man is bearing a charmed life. |
| | 1 | 1/22/2012 11:13 AM | Interesting Quote Pg 45 "I take it, no fool ever made a bargain for his soul with the devil; the fool is too much of a fool, or the devil too much of a devil- I don't know which. Or you may be such a thunderingly exalted creature as to be altogether deaf and blind to anything but heavenly sights and sounds." So, I have Enxhi's copy of Heart of Darkness an she high-lighted everything up to 'too much of a devil-' I thought the important part of passage was the second part. I think the second part of the quote ties together the whole concept of sometimes people are too dumb for their own good, or people are too bad for their own good. And the second part says, well says to me, bad things will/can happen, like being deaf and blind is worth getting to heaven for the awesome sights and sounds. Good can come from bad things. Maybe after the war on the ship with the indians and arrows, something good can happen in part 3. |
| | 5 | 1/22/2012 11:00 AM | Description The amount of description in every sentence is profound. It's almost clouding actually. You get so lost in the description that by the time you get to the end of the sentence you either have no idea what was just described or you have an extremely vivid picture in your head. |
| | 3 | 1/22/2012 10:38 AM | History As we talk about this book, I've found that most of our discussion is centered around the historical allusions that Conrad uses. This includes the whole speech about the Romans in the beginning of the first chapter, and even diving into Greek mythology with the three fates. I find this to be a very effective way of moving the story along. At first when I started reading this book, I was expecting a ton of mental pain and not a lot of genuine interest from my end. However, the whole incorporation of history in the story along with Conrad's language has made this book more tolerable for me personally. |
| | 5 | 1/22/2012 10:25 AM | What's the Point? So the stories within the stories within this story are really distracting, and I just don't understand the point? Why do we need to know all this other stuff. I feel like Conrad just wrote this book to confuse people. |
| | 6 | 1/22/2012 9:32 AM | Dense Language In first hour today, we tried analyzed Conrad's writing in itself, and noticed that his language is very dense. You have to take your time reading, and even re-read many passages in order to take it in completely. Conrad could have purposely made his language thick and complex for several reasons, the first being what I've already stated. Also, Conrad very well had made his language dense to parallel with the content of the story, being the jungle.
The jungle easily represents the mystery and unknown areas of the world, and, when compared to men, the mystery of a man's heart. I am anticipating that the majority of the story will be somehow related back to the idea of the jungle. |
| | 3 | 1/21/2012 9:04 PM | Book in cipher So while reading part 2, on page 34 Marlow is talking about a really old book he finds. He's really impressed, and interested in the 60 year old book. He describes it as "humble pages, thought out as many years ago, luminous with another than a professional light... but still more astounding were the notes penciled in the margins." Marlow is really interested in this old book beucase it has notes made in cipher. I feel he has taken such an interest to this book beucase a man was studying it and noting it in cipher, similar to marlow's interest in maps as a child. Maybe the book reminded him of home, and the thngs he loved as a child, maps. He the concluded it was an extravagent myetery, like how maps and adventures are an extravagent mystery. |
| | 5 | 1/21/2012 1:27 PM | Buddha More than once in the first few pages Buddha has been alluded to: "sunken cheeks, a yellow complexion, a straight back, an ascetic aspect, and with his arms dropped, the palms of hands outwards, resembled an idol." Of course, this is how Marlow is described when he starts telling his story but still, can't you see the meditating man resembling the traditional Buddha figure? And again on page 4, "he had the pose of a Buddha preaching in European clothes and without a lotus flower -" This book already has its fair share of religious connotations but why is Buddha incorporated so much? Is it just the traditional buddhist calmness and relaxed 'personality' that is supposed to be how Marlow is? |
| | 4 | 1/21/2012 12:01 PM | Fascination with abomination pg 4 In first hr the other day, we were discussing natural self vs. this concept of fascination with abomination.
Natural self: I think that there is this inner being in everyone where people are "one" with nature. There is an inner "savage" who is being repressed and oppressed by ourselves and by society. When we are born, we are taught to behave a certain way, to act "civilized" and conduct ourselves in a certain acceptable manner. Eventually, we no longer have to be reminded of these rules and start repressing these natural instincts on our own because that is the only way we will fit into society. When let loose in nature, the rules we were taught not longer apply and all of our repressed instincts can surface and reveal themselves.
Fascination: First, we have to define what abomination means. It took us a while in class and I am not completely sure we defined it entirely. We did come up with "evil" though, so that is what we will go with. Everyone has this fascination with "evil" or "bad" or "gross" or whatever. Chisnell pointed out that when there is a gruesome car crash, people have rubber necks trying to search out the most grotesque sight. This is true, you can't deny it entirely. It is just unacceptable to say so. There is this "dark force" I guess that is upon us all, compelling us to look at this stuff and to have this strange allure to horror. |
| | 3 | 1/21/2012 11:58 AM | Heart of Darkness vs. Poetry Okay, so there's another post hidden in poetry & other art somewhere, and not only do I not feel like searching for it, but it also is quite possibly more related to Heart of Darkness. The gist of the post was what makes a poem a poem as opposed to a paragraph or some other form of literature, and one of ideas discussed was the density of the poem, and how you have to analyze each and every word within each and every line. Now, I'm not about to say that Heart of Darkness is a poem, not at all, but the density of the novel struck me today when we were talking about the oil painting of the blindfolded woman and the gang of virtue, and there was just so much there to analyze. |
| | 3 | 1/21/2012 11:30 AM | Just a thought "There's something pathetically childish in the ruins of grass walls."
This quote on page 20 or thereabouts, and I the way I read it, it seems to suggest a decay in one's legacy through their children. Yes? Maybe not, but here's my reasoning. First of all, Conrad's use of the term "pathetic" connotes weakness, inadequacy and pettiness. The degradation of the walls of grass into ruins brings to mind the image of cities falling into decay, and the fact that they were, in the first place, made of grass suggests that their existence was just a shadow of its stone kin. Is this making sense? What I'm trying to get at is that, since pretty much this entire book is a million different allusions to a million different things, it's possible that this quote is meant to reflect how, as we progress as a species and seemingly improve in technology, are we really improving? Or, is the natural side of the human condition(verses society's well oiled superconsumer machine) falling into ruin? |
| | 0 | 1/20/2012 10:23 PM | The Knitting women "... I thought of these two, guarding the door the darkness, knitting black wool as for a warm pall, one introducing, introducing continuously to the unknown, the other scrutinizing they cheery and foolish faces with unconcerned old eyes. Ave! Old knitter of black wool. Mourituri te salutant. Not many of those she looked at ever saw her again, not half, by a long way"
The knitting of the wool by the old women had our class descussion rolling on the topic of the greek myths of the "strings of fate", and how our fate is controlled.. and its almost ironic that she's knitting a pall (funeral blanket). But it was all linked together when stated "mourituri te salutant", meaning: those who are about to die we salute you all.
Forshadowing of events to come, but anything deeper? Thoughts? |
| | 4 | 1/20/2012 10:13 PM | Journey In chapter 1, Marlow talks about paths like a sort of journey. Page 16 last paragraph, he uses descriptive language to describe a challenging route. "...Through long grass, through burnt grass, through thickets, down and up chilly ravines, up and down stony hills ablaze with heat..." The terminology on page 27 proves the same about a journey. "To tear treasure out of the bowels of the land was their desire..." |
| | 1 | 1/20/2012 7:01 PM | The misplaced man In the end of chapter two and beginning of three Conrad sticks us with an out-of-place character to process. The colorful Russian embodies the inverse of what I pictured at the 'heart of darkness'. In class we talked about how the narrator's journey to Kurtz's station was a steady descent into madness, if you will. I'm not sure who brought it up, but it was said that as they progress deeper into the jungle their "humanity" is shed. Well, that doesn't seem to be the case with the Russian sailor. The "glamour of his youth" seems to be all that protects him from the corruption of the jungle. |
| | 4 | 1/19/2012 11:05 PM | They Wanted No Excuse For Being There: Pg 11 This is my favorite part of the book so far (which I mean, being only ten pages in, isn't much but then again, it is 1/7th of the total)
mainly for personal reasons, wherein I feel so often this is what we all want, to not need any excuse or explanation for where or who we are
but as far as any kind of literary reason, what a contrast this provides to the english and french men who are only in africa for excuse, be they false and erroneous ("to civilize" "to educate" to improve" ...the woman's view., from the aunt) or bland and blunt (profit)...or from some curious sense of adventure and drive (madness) .... |
| | 8 | 1/19/2012 10:54 PM | An Alienist is a dr specializing in mental illness....
.... obviously our dr doesn't have too fine of an opinion of those who venture into Africa. all in all he's a pretty interesting cameo, though, isn't he? what with his little inside puns and depreciating obliviousness of our narrators annoyance.
I especially enjoy his response to the narrators protest that he is atypical
how "profound and probably erroneous..." does the dr., end by extension conrad, mean to imply that all men consider themselves special but that they have at their core an equal amount of darkness and lurking madness? |
| | 0 | 1/19/2012 10:07 PM | Society as a motivator to be "human" A few pages from the end of chapter two, the narrator says that "when [your neighbors] are gone you must fall back on your own innate strength, upon your own capacity for faithfulness." This seems to present the idea that society either keeps you honest or restrains your self-reliance. The "holy terror of scandal and gallows and lunatic asylums" shape the way we function in the world, but when these motivators are removed we are left to our base reactions.
If you go by the accepted definition of "human", which is basically "species which is better than every one else, we don't play by the animal's rules", then you may agree that we are most human in the sphere of society. On the other hand, if you identify with the hunter-gatherer, advanced-tool-maker, hey-look-at-this-fire-I-made definition, also known as the "sophisticated survivor" classification, then you may agree that we are most simply human when our self-reliance is tested. This passage seems to empty out by saying that most of us are neither one nor the other; we exist and occupy space and that's it. Any thoughts?
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| | 9 | 1/19/2012 9:26 PM | Marlow So far I rather like Marlow. He seems very down to earth and observational. The thing I think that really stuck out at me was his humanness (is that a word ?) Like, okay, back then slavery was an accepted thing, it was believed that the african's weren't even human, and that's how people justified their awful treatment and conditions. Marlow however seems to see them as more human than others do. When he stumbles upon the area where the sick slaves go to die, he is quite distressed in the whole situation. He says he leaves because he doesn't wish to linger there anymore. I think he is made uncomfortable by the inhumanity of it all. That makes me like him as a narrator. |
| | 9 | 1/19/2012 7:02 PM | The man who died for hens. I found some irony in the book already on page 6. Marlow is talking about how the previous captain was killed. At the very beginning he mentions that the death had occurred because of a misunderstanding about hens. As he goes into more detail about it, and how the people who lived there scattered and never returned, it becomes a rather serious story, only to be lightened again when he says "What became of the hens I don't know either." I feel like there's something more important behind this story but I'm not sure what.What I gather from it, the fact that he was killed for such an unimportant thing that got lost in the shuffle of the bigger thing it caused is just ironic. Can anyone else help me analyze this deeper ? This part kind of fascinated me. |
| | 1 | 1/19/2012 3:41 PM | Futility So far- there seems to be a motif of futility and lots of wasted time. It's really frustrating to me, but it doesn't seem to be as frustrating to the characters in the book!! Maybe it's because times were slower back then and they didn't really care if they waited months for supplies from Britain. But I would be outraged!!
Anyway, this pattern has struck me a couple of times. The first time was page 11 when Marlow describes seeing a "man-of-war" anchored off the coast firing completely aimlessly "into the continent." He goes on to say that he saw the bullets and flames darting into the trees, but nothing happened.
Then on page 13 when Marlow nearly falls into a hole (IM anyone? Haha.) that he cannot possibly think of a reason for anyone digging it except to give the "criminals" something to do.
This goes on and on with the rivets and the broken steamer ship PLUS all of the imagery of jungle overtaking civilization which I will interpret in this particular scenario as wasted effort (on humanity's part).
The larger effect of this motif is still a little unclear to me. Is it symbolizing the uselessness of imperialism? Of civilization? And gosh, as an allegory for the mind-- what the heck is that all about? |
| | 3 | 1/18/2012 11:45 AM | Supernatural being Pg. 7
Fresleven, the man who died over the issue with the hens, was killed and his body was left in the village. No one was going to touch him, so there he laid, long enough for the grass to grow through his bones. "The supernatural being has not been touched after he fell." We talked about why Fresleven was called a supernatural being in 1st hr. Fresleven is this tall, white guy coming into an aread where the people are somewhat...dumbstruck by him. One possibility for why he is called supernatural is that the people of the Congo thought of him as a god or some type of diety. The chief's son who killed him is described as giving a "tentative jab with spear at the white man", as if the chief's son was afraid of Fresleven. Further more, "the whole popuulation cleared into the forest, expecting all kinds of calamities to happen" - they might have killed a god, so something terrible might plague their village. |
| | 1 | 1/17/2012 10:18 PM | Attitude or act corruption? pp 27 "It was an inextricable mess of things decent in themselves but that human folly made look like spoils of thieving...reckless without hardihood, greedy without audacity, and cruel without courage; there was not an atom of foresight or of serious intention in the whole batch of them...with no more moral purpose at the back of it than there is in burglars breaking into a safe.""
We started out with this quote, which looks like just a commentary on how humans corrupt things and blah blah blah, but the teacher led us to the a bigger argument:
Does the thought matter?
This makes more sense with a criminal example, and many were brought up in class, like comparisons of cat-killing. Mr. Chisnell shoots Fat (one of his cats) without thinking about it; or, Mr. Chisnell gives the matter a lot of thought, and then kills Fat. Either way, he is not pining for the fjords, nor is it resting, nor is it shagged out after a long squawk. Fat has passed on, it is no more, it has ceased to be, it has expired and gone on to meet its maker, it is a late cat, it's a stiff, bereft of life, it rests in peace, it is pushin' up the daisies, it has run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. Fat is an ex-cat.
There was a lot of words like "premeditated" and "in psychology..." and "the legal system says..." but what about in theory? What matters? |
| | 10 | 1/16/2012 5:52 PM | Help! Am I the only one who is having soooo much trouble reading this book?? I am trying so hard to keep up with the class but I'm honestly feeling a bit illiterate at the moment. I'll read like three pages and then realize I've picked up nothing and have no idea what's going on. This happens repeatedly no matter how hard I try and I have to go back and reread. Sometimes I start reading and am asleep within three minutes. Any reason I just started sucking at reading? Anyone else feel me at all? |
| | 8 | 1/16/2012 5:08 PM | Fighting: Civilized or Savagery Okay so in 1st hour the other day we talking about fighting and Mr. Chisnell asked us if it was a civilized act or an act of savagery. i don't know if we were all just really tired but no one really answered him about it. The way i thought of it is that in the moment of a fight we make up an excuses as to why we are fighting and afterwards we tell people that that person had it coming. I kind of think it is a savage act i mean its very fun to watch but just think how uncivilized it is. Any thoughts? |
| | 7 | 1/15/2012 8:03 PM | The luring snake I constantly find myself coming back the the description of the big river, shaped like a snake. I pointed out in my class hour about how Marlow describes the snake in a romantic and yet a goosebump causing tone. The way in which Marlow describes the snake is in a more romantic tone, with one smooth description, but at the same time if you picture what is being described to you, you find yourself viewing a much more sinister scenario. I really have no idea why Marlow is so fascinated and lured by this "snake river." |
| | 0 | 1/15/2012 5:05 PM | Contrasting I am still completley confused about this book so I can't really help with these discussions at this time. But I did notice that on the first page there were a lot fo dark language, and dark connotations with the descriptions, but in the 2nd and 3rd pages the images have a little bit of light to them and then they begin discussing trustworthiness? (If I read that right?) We discussed lying in class which I posted about in Class concepts. THoughts? |
| | 7 | 1/15/2012 1:03 PM | Why we lie class discussion So, today in 3rd hour we had a thought provoking discussion about page 23. "You know I hate, detest, and can't bear a lie, not because I am straighter than the rest of us, but simply because it appalls me. There is a taint of death, and flavor of mortality in lies- which is exactly what I hate and detest in the world- what I want to forget." He is comparing lying to death. In our class discussion our main question was 'why do we lie?' Do we humans lie for civilization, reason or for savagery, nature? Is it a natural thing for humans to lie, or is it fueled by civilization? I personally believe humans lie for the approval for civilization. We try to impress one another with things in our life that are grater than the truth. I thought about it in a religious view. Now, you don't have to agree with my theory but it is God made us with free will and the ability to lie, not to be liars. Humans wouldn't even have the urge to lie, let alone lie with out the pressure of today's civilization. It's a 'just because you can, doesn't mean you should' thing. Other thoughts? |
| | 2 | 1/15/2012 11:31 AM | Good v. Evil I've noticed a lot of people, both online and in class, have paid much attention to the idea of light and dark in the book. There are many instances where these two ideas contradict each other, illuminating the differences between Marlow and the narrator, but I feel like there is something more to this motif.
I apologize if this has already been brought up before, but it's obvious that light and dark can also represent good and evil. This justifies the contradictions made between light and dark even more, and I feel that this also adds to the anticipation of something bigger happening in the story, that may or may not have to do with the clashing of good and evil. |
| | 2 | 1/15/2012 10:09 AM | Marlow's Mask? Now I have realized that this book was written before Freud so that means that this might be a little invalid but on page 5 Marlow states "I don't want to bother you much with what happned to me personally,"
Do you think that this could possibly be Marlow's mask? I'm not very far in the book but from what I can see he doesn't get into emotional detail too much but instead focuses mainly on the plot of his own story. |
| | 12 | 1/15/2012 9:53 AM | Fascination with Abomination When Chisnell said the we humans all have a sort of fascination with abomination (as mentioned on page 4), it made me think of times in my life when this could be true. Think about it, why do we turn our heads at a bad accident, or play violent war videogames, or watch lame school fights in the hallways? We all seem to want to see these things because they are so taboo and wrong, it gives us the adrenaline-like feeling of doing something we aren't supposed to, which can fuel us even more. The savagery Marlow discusses could be exactly the same for him. Coming from civilization at it's finest and going into this dark, merciless jungle could fascinate him as much as it did the Romans nineteen hundred years ago. |
| | 3 | 1/15/2012 8:29 AM | The Romans and the British
Marlow references the roman conquerors as men who were, “men enough to face the darkness.” The early Romans hardships and conquest in England is parallel to the hardships of the British in Africa exploring the thick dense jungle.
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| | 1 | 1/14/2012 5:21 PM | Dismmising women... From telling his aunt that she is "out of touch with the truth", when she tries to tell her view of what the company is doing; in this I saw that Marlow believes he is always right against any other thoughts that come into play, although he doesn't realize that this might be echoing throughout his head during the rest of his trip... hmmm.
Other small roles like the two women waiting for him at the company headquarters when he first interviews; then he notices there are plenty of women walking around, subconsciously showing him that it might be female-driven.
Thoughts? |
| | 2 | 1/14/2012 4:54 PM | Ave! Old knitter of black wool! pg 8 well this is rife with associations. the first would be of the fates of greek lore, who wove men's lives on looms and cut them with a pair of scissors. you guys remember those old crone bitches, maybe from Disney's hercules? yeah those ones. so, old woman, black string, seeing the young go but Not seeing them come back...hhmmmmm oh dear.
the second association is perhaps the more supported and interesting, and it relates tot he previous mention and rumination on the romans. Ave Morituri te salutant Translation: "Hail! Those who are about to die greet you". traditionally a greeting of gladiators to the emperors of rome... once again a morbid association, with some sacrificial overtones.
ADDITIONALLY: Pall is a cover for a coffin, so a warm pall is another death-y thing. look at my vocab skills guyzzzz---deathy things lolllzzz |
| | 3 | 1/14/2012 3:14 PM | Parallelism- Page 3/4 In the first chapter, around page 3/4 the narrator begins to describe what Marlow told him as the Romans came in to invade, they came into Europe to take land, and kill the "savages" (what the Romans thought were savages) and start a new life on newly captured land.... in a jist; just trying to shorten the LONNNNGGG dialogue that the narrator said. I wasn't really sure why in the first place anything about the Romans was brought up, but as we kept reading and our 1st hour class discussion got deeper, I realized that it is a direct parallelism to what Marlow and his crew/company members will be doing in South Africa. While they may not be wanting to take the land to start new colonies or a new life on it, the sole purpose of trade and exports serves them well, killing the savages as they go.
Thoughts? |
| | 1 | 1/14/2012 2:38 PM | 200 mile walk Marlow's story telling is the only thing I like about the book so far, but that's not saying much because that's all what chapter 1 was about... Marlow brings up this 200 mile walk then I had to decide if this was a literal 200 mile walk or not. Marlow says "“No use telling you much about that. Paths, paths, everywhere" but he goes on and tells us this journey? I'm starting to get all his stories confused and my mind is combining them without noticing. I'm wondering why wont he talk about this 200 mile walk. Is it a underlying message? Did something bad happen on this incredible unrealistic journey (in my mind). Was this a different journey he then proceeds to talk about? "Camp, cook, sleep, strike camp, march" was all they did. Did Marlow not want to talk about it because some men died? This just got me really lost, and thoughts? |
| | 1 | 1/14/2012 2:31 PM | Dehumanization and Elitism Okay. That feels like a hefty title, but don't have high expectations. Also. I have to rant a little first.
So on the bottom of page 32, I randomly had this moment of extreme focus right when Marlow admitted "I have a voice, too, and for good or evil mine is the speech that cannot be silenced." And I know this is silly, but I really wish it could be silenced.
Anyways! On to dehumanization and elitism. It was in this moment of clarity that I really picked up on some of the major examples of Marlow's attitude toward the African population. And I'm sure there are examples everywhere, but these were really clear to me.
Firstly, his comment the Africans and their suspicion of their not being human. I actually think it was the use of the double negative that got me thinking, but it kind of just made me frustrated with Marlow and want to tune him out again,
And then! Reading about how he brought someone back and made him "useful" horrified me, and the fact hat he didn't explain to the poor guy what he was even doing kind of pissed me off.
And it gets worse when he literally picks up the book, evaluates that it has some worth, and then just takes it as if he is the only person in the world that matters. It frustrates me to see this mindset in action. We've all heard about it, and read about it, but reading about it in this perspective is a different matter, it's quite angering. |
| | 3 | 1/14/2012 1:31 PM | Suggestions So I don't know if any other students from different class hours found themselves re-reading the same line over and over again, but I admitted that it's what I found myself doing. So when in doubt, I was always taught to read out loud, so that's exactly what I did. Mr. Chisnell also read to us, and I think that this book is supposed to be read out loud. It's a narrator of a narrator in the first place, why not add your self into the equation? Now I'm not saying that you have to read out loud to yourself I am simply suggesting giving it a try if you are like me and struggling with this dialogue/syntax. Hope this helps. |
| | 4 | 1/14/2012 12:06 PM | Strength On page 4, during Marlow's story, Marlow says something that can be very true. He says, "your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others." When others are weak and helpless in a situation it can cause one person to step up and do what needs to be done. Also, sometimes a person may look strong compared to the weakness of others. When there is somebody in a group that is known as the strong one who will rise to the occassion, it is easy to be weak and just hide in the corner. But the same person who was weak in that situation will become strong if necessary because of the lack of that other guy or other leader that will step up. |
| | 3 | 1/14/2012 11:17 AM | Preparation Does anyone else find themselves preparing for whats to come in this book? Because I think we are in for something more gruesome than Mr. Chisnell has let on. Constant talk of darkness, death, and hate. Violence and robbery. Does anyone else think this book is going to take a dark turn. |
| | 4 | 1/14/2012 10:51 AM | Chapter one... So, just last week I read our new book. I took my time, reading the book like I would with any other book (slow but at a semi decent pace) and I have absolutely NO CLUE what I just read. I know Mr. Chisnell said that this book was going to be challenging but I I feel like I didn't even read the book. Is anyone else having this problem?? |
| | 4 | 1/13/2012 6:08 PM | Light vs. Dark The conflict of light vs. dark early on in the novel already provide for us some information on how Marlow and the narrator see things differently. The narrator notices the lighthouse on the shore and the lights of ships in the distance after the sun sets, after he talks about the great people that traveled on the same river. While thinking these things, Marlow interrupts him saying, "This also has been one of the dark places of the earth", contradicting everything the narrator has been thinking. |
| | 1 | 1/10/2012 3:43 PM | Rivets! Rivets EVERYWHERE!! RIVETS FOR NONE AND AAAAAAAALLLLLL!!! These freakin' rivets. (In this case, ship hull rivets. Not the ones on your jean pockets.) "Rivets had rolled into the grove of death." I mean, there's always the "ghastly glazed calico...glass beads...confounded spotted cotton handkerchiefs" image-symbols that keep popping up, but I am curious to other's thoughts concerning the rivets. I mean, as far as ships and materials are concerned, rivets are a pain in the ass to deal with and without welding capabilities, even more so. So Marlow is quoted as saying, "what I really wanted was rivets...to get on with the work - to stop the hole." The hole thing comes up a lot, too - the indefatigable moustache man procures water from the river by means of a bucket with a hole in it, and there's other examples about holes, too BUT THE RIVETS, GUYS. THE RIVETS. I mean, yeah, they could symbolize how Marlow's mysterious company is just giving them free rein to roam and rule around (just like real history, ehmygawd) and they aren't concerned enough with trivial things like umm ships I guess, but any other thoughts? Maybe I'm just homing in on the rivets too much, but still. |
| | 0 | 1/8/2012 2:41 PM | "Your own reality-" and "dream-sensation" pp24-25
So if we are being outright TOLD by this book that we can only make "vain attempt" at relating a dream, and your own reality is "what no other man can ever know," then what are we to make of this with regards to (what I would call) this trenchant commentary softened (? revealed?) by many veil folds? |
| | 0 | 1/8/2012 1:54 PM | Anyone Else Read This Book Before? I hesitate to type out what I would like to about Kurtz & Co. lest spoiling of the cloudy and macabre novella ensue. So, I'm asking instead if this is anyone else's second go around with Heart of Darkness as well? |
| | 4 | 1/8/2012 12:43 PM | Roman sailors I'm curious about the reason for the long passage about the Roman sea-captain. On pg 4 there's a long passage about how the Roman sailors from over 1,900 years ago lived. At first Marlow is sort of sensitive to the subject, and is feeling bad for there struggles and there hardships. On the next page, he sort of dismisses all he says by saying "All they did was steal" and saying how violent low lives they were. I'm just confused in the change in tone he has. Thoughts? |
| | 0 | 1/8/2012 12:25 PM | The River The narrator states that the River has served everyone from treasure hunters to people of royalty, that the river has known many men, many ships, and has seen many levels of greatness. With the narrator now traveling along the river, he is taken in by the thought of this, and that he is on the same path that the worlds greats were once on. It seems as though our narrator could be in for his shot at greatness soon in the novel, if he stays on this same path. |
| | 3 | 1/7/2012 10:41 PM | Blank Spaces On page 5, Marlow starts to talk about how he used to love maps. He would always look at them and want to go to many of the places on the map. There were also blank spaces on the maps at that time and those were particularly intriguing to him. now that all of the spaces are filled it is kind of boring to him. He says that "it had ceased to be a blank space of delightful mystery" and that "it had become a place of darkness." Now that the blank spaces are gone there is no more mystery left. The fun has been taken out of it. There are no more discoveries to be made with it and that is kind of sad for Marlow. Something that is mysterious is always more intersting than something that has alredy been done or discovered. |
| | 2 | 1/7/2012 10:39 PM | The captian It seems that the almost over-affectionate description of the captain foreshadows the nautical misfortunes to come. " On the whole river there was nothing that looked half so nautical. He resembled a pilot, which to a seaman is trustworthiness personified."
"It was difficult to realize his work was not out there in the luminous estuary, but behind him, within the brooding gloom."
On a side note, did anyone work out what this was supposed to mean? |
| | 2 | 1/7/2012 9:07 PM | Testing the water So, reading the first 5 pages I've already stated to get a sailor voice in my head for when I read Marlow's text. I love the description of the sea. 'The day was ending in a serenity of still and exquisite brilliance... the water shone pacifically; the sky, without a speck, was a benign immensity of unstained light.' I love the images put into my head so far. As well as the imagery of the sea, i loved the importance the sun is to the men at sea. When it was described as a torch for the men, it became clear that the sun and the days light, is one of the most important things to the sailors that they don't take for granted. Something I noticed is on the ship there is a lawyer and an accountant. I guess anyone could be a part time sailor back then. |
| | 0 | 1/7/2012 7:37 PM | Lies On page 23, Marlow starts to talk about how much he hates lies. He even says that lies appall him because they are so terrible. I would have to agree with him on this one. Lies are a terrible thing and they never end up turning out well. There is no reason to tell lies, all they do is make situations worse for yourself. And besides yourself, think of others. When you tell lies to others, you are betraying them and possibly messing up situations for them as well. Telling lies never turns out well and if you do not lie then you will not have to remember what you said. Now I understand white lies that are just little things and do no harm because sometimes that just makes things easier and causes the situation to go a bit smoother. For instance, everybody lies to children about many things because they are just too young to hear and handle the truth. |
| | 0 | 1/7/2012 5:16 PM | Dead in the Center. pg.7 When Marlow is sitting in the waiting room looking at the map, he sees Africa painted with all sorts of colors showing which country controls that area-- Marlow will be going to the yellow part which he describes as "dead in the center." This is interesting to me because it combines the connotation of "dead center" as in the section is smack dab in the middle of the country, but he says, "Dead IN the centre," which makes me think that there is much more to be afraid of in this 'yellow part.' Like the sea that still screams of lost souls long ago to the sailors on the Thames, this yellow part seems to scream of death in its belly. The river (the one that Marlow calls a snake) is there and that is deadly too-- ready to bite at any minute. |
| | 1 | 1/7/2012 12:23 PM | PG 14: this bit of white thread from beyond the seas first, obviously, how absolutely sickening the cruelty man can deposit on fellow man.
Secondly, symbolism of the white thread...tied around the neck, not long ago we saw the shackled blackmen carrying earth on their heads, here is a moribund (on the point of death) african, without a shackle, but with a white thread (remember the crone bitches and their black threads that were mens lives, which they were weaving into a pall?) tied around his neck, from across the seas....
a thread, a chain, a noose, a propitiatory (concilling or appeasing) act? it is all the same...a promise of death from across the seas. a white thread of cruelty, a demon of folly, the darkness of humanity...strangling the life out of africa? |
| | 0 | 1/5/2012 10:16 PM | Snarky Alert! Pg 15 the description of the chief accountant is so delightfully snarky! how he has "character and backbone" because of his starched linen, because he has achieved a great thing in maintaining his dandiness, how he looks a hairdressers dummy....
all on the backs of the suffering african people! what a frightfully european action! so modest the narrator says..... indeed, the chief accountant has no clue as to the TRUE PRICE of his and his countries presence in Africa.
the price of human life and suffering.
derdader.... |
| | 0 | 1/5/2012 9:56 PM | Pg 13 The Devil of Folly The devil of violence, the devil of greed, the devil of red hot lust...Marlow says he has seen all these before. But in a rather nifty and epic piece it of foreshadowing he mentions a demon he expects to meet soon: the flabby (oooooooh I like it, what a perfect descriptor) the flabby and insidious demon of folly.
it may be helpful to mention here, that rapacious means aggressive, that pitiful is merciless, that this demon is no less effectual for all his flab then the demons that :drove men, men!" this emphasis on men! leads me to suspect that the danger of the demon of folly, its aggresive mercilessness lies in its capacity to change men from men to something...less.
and of course, right after mentioning the demon of folly Marlow goes by a pointless hole....made perhaps only for the purpose of cruelty. foolish perhaps, but no less sadistic or dark. a joker esque fool, not a jangly bells one.
on a side note all this talk of demons and holes makes me think of the Phantom Toolbooth and the demon of pointless tasks, including diging a hole with a tweezers...anyone else read it?
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| | 0 | 1/2/2012 2:42 PM | The Fascination and the Repulsion: Pg. 4 "HE has to live in the midst of the incomprehensible, which is also detestable. And it has a fascination too...."
This whole sequence of comparison, which is not directly stated as such, should not be glossed over as insignificant. The relationship between conqueror and conquest is an important one I suspect and much of the language and opinions relating to (romans-brits) will hold parallels between (anglos-africans). after all, the darkness that Conrad is exploring is not only evident in one place, but in "the hearts of wild men"
and the light he happens to see is "but a flash" |
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