Heart of Darkness
Please post your comment/answer by 9/27. Please respond/answer your classmates before Midnight on October 1st.
Read the following quoatations/statements and identify why the quote or comment is important. Choose one.
1. "... there was something ominous in the atmosphere. It was just as though I had been let into some conspiracy, I don't know, something not quite right."
2. "But there was in it one river especially, a mighty big river, that you could see on the map, resembling an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar over a vast country, and its tail lost in the depths of the land. And as I looked at the map of it in a shop-window, it fascinated me as a snake would a bird - a silly little bird."
3. "So you are going out there. Famous. Interesting too.' He gave me a searching glance and made another note. "Ever any madness in your family?' he asked in a matter of fact tone... 'It would be... interesting to watch the mental changes of individuals, on the spot..."
4. In the brickmaker's room, Marlow sees a picture of a woman painted by Kurtz. Though the woman carries a torch to light the way, she is blindfolded and, therefore, cannot see where she is going. What might this painting symbolize?
5. Marlow compares the city of Belgium, the company headquarters, to a whited sepulcher. Why? What is this allusion?
Read the following quoatations/statements and identify why the quote or comment is important. Choose one.
1. "... there was something ominous in the atmosphere. It was just as though I had been let into some conspiracy, I don't know, something not quite right."
2. "But there was in it one river especially, a mighty big river, that you could see on the map, resembling an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar over a vast country, and its tail lost in the depths of the land. And as I looked at the map of it in a shop-window, it fascinated me as a snake would a bird - a silly little bird."
3. "So you are going out there. Famous. Interesting too.' He gave me a searching glance and made another note. "Ever any madness in your family?' he asked in a matter of fact tone... 'It would be... interesting to watch the mental changes of individuals, on the spot..."
4. In the brickmaker's room, Marlow sees a picture of a woman painted by Kurtz. Though the woman carries a torch to light the way, she is blindfolded and, therefore, cannot see where she is going. What might this painting symbolize?
5. Marlow compares the city of Belgium, the company headquarters, to a whited sepulcher. Why? What is this allusion?
"So you are going out there. Famous. Interesting too.' He gave me a searching glance and made another note. "Ever any madness in your family?' he asked in a matter of fact tone... 'It would be... interesting to watch the mental changes of individuals, on the spot..."
ReplyDeleteRight, from the begging the medical community finds those going to Africa interesting. Knowing why also interest them. I would assume that manny from England would see the only reason for going out there was for money. Those he is not going for money, but instead to explore and broaden his horizons. The next part becomes fascinating when he ask if madness was ever in the family. Question the stability of his mind or if it could last while he was out in the wild. Adding another layer of complexity when he commented about studying the changes of the mind on the spot. Manny men did not come back. The Dr. would not have known if they went mad or if the died. He would, of course, have heard stories of what could have happened to other men. Saying this the author explains that more is happening then these men going out to help improve the natives, but instead, they themselves might be changing. That what happens in the unknown lands is unknown.
Maybe there is some symbolism here. The doctor makes judgements about Marlow's motivation and projects his own ideals on him. Then he measures his skull - and presumably makes more judgments based of a more literal "outside appearance".
DeleteGood point! It is interesting to look at how once the pilgrims enter the dangers of Africa they are really never the same. Even a well-kept man such as Kurtz, who wanted to keep out the wild mannerisms of the natives, ended up almost becoming them. going wild himself.
DeleteGoing off of what Noelle said, it’s interesting to look at the fact that Kurtz is looking at the madness all around him while completely ignoring the different breed of madness he himself has fallen into.
DeleteAs we talked about in class yesterday, the painting in the brickmaker's room is a very large piece of symbolism. This painting is of a woman who carries a torch to light her path, however over her eyes is a cloth blindfolding her. We were discussing how this can greatly resemble the colonization of Africa. This could be because when the English made the attempt to colonize Africa they had only mapped out a small part of this large continent, it was as if they were blindly walking into a county that they didn't know and was foreign to many of them, making an attempt to "tame" the wild natives. The torch would represent resources, the English had guns, mass amounts of means for survival, money, and everything that the natives were lacking. Going into a county that is unfamiliar, with only resources and each other. Of course, this is only my opinion, let me know if you think otherwise.
ReplyDeleteThat was beautifuly put Noelleo. The idea that the torch is representing the resources is really great, the Europeans had pretty much all of the resources they could ask for but they mean nothing when they had no idea what they were getting into.
DeleteI have never thought about that before. You make a very good point. The resources the white man had was why they were able to move forward into the country. The steamboat made them able to move forward with large loads at an effect paste. Guns got them food but also forced respect out of the natives. While the fact they did not respect the natives blinded them. They were blinded because they thought the natives were only good for manual labor. When they looked at the natives as less than human they blinded themselves. They could have accomplished so much more if they treated the natives better.
DeleteYou guys all made some great points. I think that the symbolism of blindness goes a lot further than just geographical blindness. Similar to what you said Caleb, I think that the colonists were also blind morally. They had the torch, which could symbolize morality. They were bringing light to Africa, attempting to civilize the savages, but at the same time, they could not see the light themselves. They were morally blind and were not treating the savages the way a missionary should have. They were blind to morality, but yet the pretended to guide the way with their torches.
Delete"But there was in it one river especially, a mighty big river, that you could see on the map, resembling an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar over a vast country, and its tail lost in the depths of the land. And as I looked at the map of it in a shop-window, it fascinated me as a snake would a bird - a silly little bird." Though the point we focused on mainly in class when regarding the river, was the symbolism of a snake being like the serpent in Genesis of the Bible, I really like to focus on the significance of the river as a character in and of itself. From the very beginning we feel Marlow’s being pulled toward the river, but what happens when he finally reaches it? He is traveling upstream, the river almost swallows his boat, and hid journey is vastly off track all because of this pushback of the river. A pushback against colonialism we could say. Is it possible Marlow could be representative of the core ideas of colonialism and the river, the ever pushing force against colonialism? The rivers in this story are, in my opinion, one of the most critical “characters” in the story. Is there possible symbolism in the other river/rivers mentioned?
ReplyDelete~M
Rivers give life, and yet spread disease like nobodies business. They provide access to places you don't actually want to go. Fickle river fog constantly interferes with navigation. Rivers seem very two faced in this story! I like how you say "character". Almost like a god, perhaps?
DeleteWow, that is an incredible comparison Mak! Like Kristen mentioned, I thought it was interesting how the river in this story became one of the most crucial characters. Similarly to what we were talking about in class, without the river there would be no story, no path to Africa, and no telling of Marlowe's adventures in the Congo. When we look a bit deeper the river can almost become the protagonist of the story.
DeleteI agree with most of what you said. It was very deep and thought out. I got caught on one thing you said though.
Delete"Is it possible Marlow could be representative of the core ideas of colonialism and the river, the ever pushing force against colonialism? "
From my reading about colonization, it seems like most people at the time were for it. Yes, there were a few people who soul the harms and waste that was happing but more people realized harms later on. During colonization, it seems like more people were for it. It could also be they thought they were doing good or that because it was happening so far away from home they did not really know what was happening.
I definitely agree with the symbolism of the river. I think that the last part of the quote really supports your idea when it says that it "fascinated" Marlow "as a snake would a bird - a silly little bird." The river is intriguing, and draws colonists to it, but just like a silly little bird, once it is upon the river, it destroys them, much like a snake would to a little bird. I think that this post was a great explanation of the river's symbolism. Nice post!
Delete1. "... there was something ominous in the atmosphere. It was just as though I had been let into some conspiracy, I don't know, something not quite right."
ReplyDeleteIt seems from the time Marlow sets foot in Africa that "something is not right." He had ignorance to shield his conscience before coming, but as he witnesses what is actually happening he feels more and more guilty, trying to justify the actions of the colonists. As he slowly uncovers what has happened to Kurtz (who is an axiom of "civilized man") his unease grows. Africa almost seems to be a force in it's own right, like some corrosive substance.
Do you think the fact this was in hindsight had any effect on Marlow's memory?
Super cool thoughts! It is interesting that the deeper Into Africa they go the more it consumes them. It almost becomes a bit ironic how the more that they pilgrims try to colonize and tame Africa the more that it fights back driving the English aliens to insanity.
DeleteThat is a very interesting thought, as far as this being Marlow’s hindsight. I don’t know the answer to the question but it’s most definitely something to keep thinking about.
Delete"Marlow compares the city of Belgium, the company headquarters, to a whited sepulcher. Why? What is this allusion?" Merriam-Webster defines a whited sepulcher as "a person inwardly corrupt or wicked but outwardly or professedly virtuous or holy". But when something is akin to a whited sepulcher, it does not always have to be a person. And this is what Marlow was getting at. What proves this point is how Marlow was not able to see this until after his experience, because after his trip to Africa, he saw what the company was actually about: gaining wealth. The company's "noble" goal to help the savages in Africa, was just a front for their greed. Marlow alluded to this deceptive nature by describing them as whited sepulchers. That me know if you guys think that there is a different meaning behind him claiming that they are whited sepulchers.
ReplyDeleteParker i think you hit it dead on... the only other thing i thought of when i hear he related them to a whited sepulchers is this: they said they were helping the savages when really they were savages themselves maybe, which equals hypocrite.
DeleteIn the brick maker's room, Marlowe sees a picture of a woman painted by Kurtz. Though the woman carries a torch to light the way, she is blindfolded and, therefore, cannot see where she is going. What might this painting symbolize?
ReplyDeleteSo as Noelle said we talked about it in class as the colonization of Africa, and although i agree with that i think it could be taken in a different way. I think woman with the torch could symbolize the people in this world who think they have it all figured out and know exactly where they are going and know everything that lays ahead of them. They get blindsided by the blindfold however, because it gives them a false view of the world- you think your seeing something amazing when you are really seeing something awful (or vise versa).