"And this also," said Marlow suddenly, "has been one of the darkest places of the earth." (5)
And so we are introduced to our narrator Charley Marlow, the "only man of us who still 'followed the sea.'" Through his eyes will we experience the story of Kurtz (though be clear, he is not the narrator—that is the unnamed owner of the yacht these successful Englishmen find themselves on). Marlow appears in other Conrad works, most notably Lord Jim, published the year after "Heart of Darkness" is published (1899). Marlow rarely says what he thinks; he is forever trying to figure out exactly what he means—and if it is even possible to know that you means.
1. Just to finish our conversation today in class. Based on what we talked about today, and having had time to think about it, what do you think now is the "horror" Kurtz whispers at the end?
2. Response to these opening pages of the novella? Like? Dislike? Difficult? Really difficult? Why? Address all these questions. Give us a good sense of how you are dealing with this book.
3. What is the biggest question you have about the reading? What, above all else, makes no sense to you?
4. What image in the book particularly stuck out to you? Why? Quote in your response.
That's more than enough questions. See you guys tomorrow.
1) Based on our conversation in class I think Kurtz is talking about the horror necessary to win the war. Kurtz is part of the war and he is searching for a way to win it, an answer or method for victory. What he finds horrifies him. There is a a possible genius to the idea of the total nonjudgmental war that Kurtz sees, but he finds it so terrible and horrifying he is unable to use the method to win the war he so desperately wants to win.
ReplyDelete2) I like it so far. It is definitely a dense and hard read, as I sometimes need to reread a few sentences, but all in all I like it. I like the narration style, the more personal storytelling approach has always appealed to me. I also love the imagery and the metaphors, how he describes the sky and the sunset as he tells his story, or the city where the company is.
3) The main thing I'm confused about is what the Company actually does. I'm not sure if it is exploration or trading and if one of those two what they are exploring or who they are trading with and for what.
4) There is some amazing imagery in this book, even within the first nine pages. It is hard to choose just one, as a few instances stood out to me. I'd say the description of the end of the day before the sun sets really stood out to me though, especially "The water shone pacifically, the sky without a speck was a benign immensity of unstained light, the very mist on the Essex marshes was like a gauzy and radiant fabric hung from the wooded rises inland and draping low shores in diaphanous folds." I think this passage and its language is beautiful and easily creates the image and the feel of the scene in my mind.
1) He speaks of the horror of a world where chopping off the arms of children makes sense. Kurtz both has this revelation that "It is judgement that defeats us" and realizes how horrible it is that we feel the need to forgo judgement. The horror is not so much the things which he has done, but the world that has made him do them.
ReplyDelete2) The writing was really difficult, but was also interesting. In some long sentences, I had to go back to figure out exactly what it was saying, because there were whole clauses between the subject and the verb. One interesting thing to me is that Marlow takes a while to get very specific about where he is going, which (if you do not already know he is going up the Congo) adds a bit of suspense, even when he is still setting out the framework of the story.
3) I don't understand how he's going to start his search for Kurtz. It seems like he will just be doing trade and exploring. However, if it goes the same as in Apocalypse Now, Marlow will know about him before finding him.
4) One piece of imagery that stuck in my mind was the passage where the sun begins to set. Conrad writes, "And at last in its curved and imperceptible fall the sun sank low, and from glowing white changed to a dull red without ray and without heat, as if about to go out suddenly, stricken to death by the gloom brooding over a crowd of men. Forthwith a change came over the waters, and the serenity became less brilliant but more profound." He could have just said, "The sun began to set," but instead he describes every detail. Also, I like the image of the serenity growing less brilliant, but more profound. Interestingly, "serene" is also an archaic noun for the sea, and I wonder if Conrad is drawing on this in part.
1. I think the horrors, for Kurtz, are the death and destruction that he’s found himself in. If he goes about winning the war in the way that will be effective, it will be truly unpleasant, and if he fights in the way the government wants him to it will be less unpleasant but ineffective. It’s a really uncomfortable Catch-22 that I think might have a role in Kurtz’s allowance of Willard’s murdering him.
ReplyDelete2. Conrad’s writing is, for me, hard to read but entirely worthwhile when you get it. The man clearly has a way with words: “We felt meditative and fit for nothing but placid staring,” (4). However, these descriptions and explanations can get heavy half way through the never ending paragraphs so that you end up having no idea what you’ve read when you finish a page and have to re-read it a couple of times. I do think, however, that Marlow will be very interesting narrator.
3. I’d really like to know why everyone’s on the same boat, despite having rather different backgrounds—the lawyer, accountant, Director, and Marlow. I’m also curious too see what exactly is the purpose of their journey (maybe they’ve already stated this and I just missed it).
4. “In the offing the sea and the sky were welded together without a joint and in the luminous space the tanned sails of the barges drifting up with the tide seemed to stand still in the red clusters of canvas, sharply peaked with the gleams of vanished sprits,” (3) Conrad writes, describing the beginning of the journey. Once I read this description it seemed obvious that this scene should be described exactly like this. The image is perfect—and even before I looked up “sprit” I got what he was trying to say. However, there’s no way that I could have come up with such a description. Conrad’s writing here reminds me of the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel—the continuation around doors and edges of walls—and now I have this image of the waterway as a live painting.
I think the horror that Kurtz is referring to is the horror of the things he's done and seen, and the horror of the things we'd have to do to win the war. He's seen firsthand the terrible things we've done, and he's come to realize that that is the only way to win the war. We have to be willing to do horrible things.
ReplyDeleteI don't think we've gotten far enough into the story for me to decide whether I like it or not, but so far its been enjoyable. I've noted a lot of references to Apocalpyse Now, especially in the first few pages. It's difficult, but not impossibly difficult to read. It didn't start off at all how I thought it would, there's a lot more backstory than I thought there would be.
I'm not sure I understand where Marlow is going or why. I think he's going to the jungle to work for the East India Company, but is that it? I think I have a pretty good grasp on everything else that happened in the reading.
"Marlow sat cross- legged right aft, leaning against the mizzen- mast. He had sunken cheeks, a yellow complexion, a straight back, an ascetic aspect, and, with his arms dropped, the palms of hands outwards, resembled an idol." I thought this was interesting because it says that Markow resembled an idol, which reminded of the way we saw Willard's face and the idol's face together in Apocalpyse Now. "Imagine the growing regrets, the longing to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the hate." I liked this quote because these sound like some of the horror Kurtz may have been talking about.
1.“The horror” is Kurtz’s secret, or his knowledge of how the United States can win the war. It seems simple enough, even doable in theory, but I think he really realizes the true impact, the true horror of what that would really mean.
ReplyDelete2.I definitely thought the novella was quite difficult to get into at first, but after a while, there was a rhythm to it and it became much easier to read. There was still some language and sentences that I didn’t understand, but I think (I hope) that I have a moderate grasp of the story so far. And so far, I like it. The writing is very interesting and can make you stop and think. It was also new for me (and interesting) to read a piece of work set in a society and time period that has the colonialism mentality in full force.
3.Why exactly is Marlow journeying on the river through what is now known as the Congo? He clearly likes adventure, exploring, and travel, but why else? He seems to be somewhat distant from colonial thought and doesn’t have a direct interest in “conquering the natives,” but what is his ultimate aim for him there? Maybe he doesn’t even have an answer to that. I think my other question would be about all the references to light and dark, how do they all fit into the larger theme? I guess I won’t find out until later though….
4.I really liked the line “The snake had charmed me,” said by Marlow in reference to his desires to explore “the blank continent.” I also thought the image of the two women, one slim, one fat, each knitting black wool, was an image that stuck out to me. Marlow describes one of them as “uncanny” and “fateful,” which made me think of them as The Fates from Greek mythology, which I’m sure was an intentional reference by Joseph Conrad.
1. I think Kurtz is talking about the horror of what he has discovered as the only way to win the war. He knows that the war can be won if the soldiers have the ability to kill without emotion, but even he is unable to implement this strategy, and he is horrified of what he has discovered and what he has attempted to do.
ReplyDelete2. I really like the story so far. I like the style of the writing. The language is so carefully and artfully used. There were a few parts that were difficult to understand and a few words I had to look up, but I did not find the language too difficult.
3. I am not sure where Kurtz fits into all this yet. Does he have anything to do with the guy who died in the hen incident?
4. "… a heavy writing-desk squatted in the middle. From behind that structure came out an impression of pale plumpness in a frock-coat. The great man himself" (10). I thought this description of the desk and then this man is very witty and even comical. I loved these details, even though it might not be profound. The personification of the desk to be squatting and the depersonification (I think I just made that word up) of the man as "pale plumpness in a frock-coat" made me smile. Although not particularly serious, this quotation shows the brilliance of the language in this novella.
1. I think that Kurtz expresses his disgust at how he has divided himself and done immoral things, and also at his realization that to win the war the US would have to wage total war (i.e. kill without judgment--civilians aren't safe).
ReplyDelete2. I like it. There are many interesting and clever images. I would say that it's difficult, sometimes I have to reread sentences to make sure that I at least get a sense of what they convey. Whenever I have to go over something, I write down what I think it means so I can come back and understand it more easily. Also, writing things down help me to understand them more.
3. I wonder what the lawyer, accountant, and director of companies are doing on the boat. My assumption is that they are on the boat to enjoy being out on the water, but maybe they are traveling. If they are, where are they going, and why? How does Marlow know them?
Who is the narrarator? Why did Conrad choose to tell the story from his point of view?
4. I like how Conrad described the river as "crowded with memories." I can picture the memories, maybe like fish pushing past each other or maybe more like stuff people have dumped there. Does the river record its own history or does it only have the memories because people connect the river with events?
1. I think the "horror" that Kurtz is referring to in this dramatic monologue is to his experience in the war as a whole. It's broad, but this horror encompasses many things that Kurtz had been through. One of the horrible images was the children who had their arms cut off. In addition, I think that he views the necessity to forget one's emotion as horrible, while he realizes that it's the only way to effectively win a war. He has done that, but he feels disconnected and is declared insane. He also strongly dislikes the dishonest aspect of war, and believes that the military is horrible to act hypocritically and lie to themselves. I believe that he feels bad for his actions and "insane" mindset, and blames "the horror" that I listed above for the reason he is.
ReplyDelete2. I think I enjoy it. I know that I will once we discuss it in class and I am able to have a better understanding of the writing and plot. It took me surprisingly long for the amount of pages because it is such a dense and complex book, but it was set up for a good story. I think the choice to have to story told as a story by the character Marlowe. I'll definitely be alright it's just definitely not something I can casually read before bed— as y'all had warned. :)
3. I wanted more of an introduction to the people on the boat and how they got there, and the role the Company plays in this whole journey. I was also confused about why the crew on the boat is there, because it was never made clear to me their distinct mission (which goes along with setting the story up more).
4. I really liked reading the detailed description somewhat early in the story: "Imagine him here— the very end of the world, a sea the color of lead, a sky the color of smoke, a kind of ship about as rigid as a concertina— going up the river..." (6). This stuck with me because I could really picture this setting, being shown the exact colors of things and intense smoky sky. I immediately thought of apocalypse now after reading the phrase "the very end of the world" because that fragment is simply the definition of an apocalypse.
1. I think that the 'horror' is what Kurtz realizes we must do in order to win the war. The horror of how moral men must act, and the horror that he, Kurtz, knows this secret and must bear the burden.
ReplyDelete2. I really enjoyed it so far. I think Conrad's writing is amazing. I have found that reading dense books out loud (especially narratives like this one) really helps me comprehend everything that's going on. I annotated, but I think it would be neat to go over the book somewhat methodically in class.
3. I want to know who the narrator is. He's also on the boa with Marlow, right? I also want to know what's up with women in this story so far. What does Marlow mean by "some confounded fact we men have been living contentedly with ever since the day of creation would start up and knock the whole thing over."?
4. I was interested by the description of the 'scuffle' with the natives. The interactions between races/classes seems very important and the description of the old captain and town, "The supernatural being had not been touched after he fell. And the village was deserted, the huts gaped black, rotting, all askew within the fallen enclosures..." reminds me a lot of Kurtz's camp.
1. He’s telling us that it’s horrible what the US will do to win the war. Like I said before I believe Kurtz says this because he sees what the war has made him and other do. He has seen all of the terrible things people will to win the war, like parents chopping off their children arms to show their devotion to the army.
ReplyDelete2. Reading even just the first nine pages of the book was difficult for me. It took me quite a long time to read this and I already read slower than some would. The way he writes is beautiful. The story though is very interesting and after a while I started to get into the flow of it and became a little easier to follow along.
3. I was confused why all of those men were on the same boat together. Where exactly are they going and for what reason? Why is Marlow on the boat with them? Is there some connection of all of the men?
4. When Marlow is on the boat he describes the sea, the sky and the boat by saying, “Imagine him here—the very end of the world, a sea the color of lead, a sky the color of smoke, a kind of ship about as rigid as a concertina—and going up this river with stores, or orders, or what you like. I really liked and connected to this quote because he's showing how eery being on the ship is. The way that he says this makes it very easy to visualize. He’s also showing us that being on this ship doesn't give you a good feeling.