Read to the point when Marlow reaches the continent of Africa.
Answer the following questions in short-response format. You must incorporate quotes into your responses.
1. Identify the "frame story."
2. Identify the two narrators.
3. Identify how the theme of Darkness is being portrayed.
4. Identify the thread of "Colonial Irony" in respect to Africa and England. How does "darkness" and "light" play into this irony?
5. Why is the setting so crucial to the understanding of the novel as a whole? Where is the "story" being told? Where is the "story" taking place?
Due Friday, 10/1 by Midnight
1. The 'frame story' takes place on the river Thames in England. There are five men relaxing on the deck of a yawl, 'The Nellie', while gazing at the waters thinking about the remarkable men who once traveled the waters before them, ("And indeed nothing is easier for a man who has, as the phrase goes, 'followed the sea' with reverence and affection, than to evoke the great spirit of the past upon the lower reaches of the Thames."pg 17) while the day reaches dusk. A crewmember suddenly remarks how 'dark' the place used to be when the Romans had arrived nineteen hundred years ago, and begins to retell one of his 'inconclusive memories'. (pg 21)
ReplyDelete2. The narrator in the 'frame story' is not named, only to be known as one of the five men upon the deck, listening to Marlow speak. The second narrator is Marlow, as he recounts his experience in Africa.
3. The theme of Darkness is first played out through the setting; Although the sun is shinning radiently before setting, there are clouds shifting over from the west, casting darkness over London, the 'biggest, and the greatest, town on earth.' (pg 15) Next, it is expressed as the day reaches it's end, and nightfall surrounds the crew. Thirdly, Marlow remarks how England 'has been one of the dark places of the earth' (pg 18) and how 'we live in a flicker...but darkness was here yesterday' (pg 19) before unfolding his tale. 'Darkness' is also portrayed through Marlow's disagreeing opinion on the idea of 'imperialism'. (2nd paragraph on pg 20)
4. As we read in the introduction, Europeans have been exploring into Africa for reasons such as to gain power, and for wealth. However, this is ironic, for as Marlow states 'the Romans first came here, nineteen hundred years ago' (pg 18) and about how primitive the land was, indicating the time when England was conquered by the Roman army, which included Africans. Therefore, Africans had in fact dominated over England decades before England started its attempt to colonize Africa. 'Darkness' is Marlow's representation of countries under oppression (England 19 hundred years ago, current Africa), and 'Light' is what the represents the English's opinion on current state of England - admirable and prosperous.
5. I think the setting is vital to the story, for the main theme of 'Heart Of Darkness' seems to be 'imperialism' and how a man's idea of that can change due to experiences. Thus, the 'frame story' taking place in Imperialistic England, while Marlow's tale takes place in Africa (undergoing oppression from England/Europe) are contrasting, which truly brings out the importance of the theme of the novel.
1. A "frame story" is a way of narrating a story which has a story within it. The book Heart of Darkness obviously shows an aspect of the frame story because there are two narrators going on. A frame story can give more verisimilitude because it makes readers feel that they are actually listening from the narrator.
ReplyDelete2. The first narrator is an annonymous person with a group of people because the unknown person says "we" on page 16. The second narrator also has a first-person point of view as the first one, the narrator's name is Charlie Marlow, and the first person introduces him rougly as a seaman. Once he started on his story,the first narrator slips down as a listener of his story.
3. Although the theme of the story has not been shown completely yet, it shows how the theme has been portrayed. The story has been articulated ironically. Since Marlow tells the story of his experience, obviously the theme would be connected to his experience in Africa.
4. The thread of the colonial irony was seen by Marlow's ironical saying on page 22, "It(the blank spaces on the earth, the new continent) had ceased to be a blank space of delightful mystery- a white patch for a boy to dream gloriously over. It had become a place of darkness." It was sad that Marlow didn't get what was wrong with his saying because he was already an imperialist altough he wasn't concious about that. There has not been changed anything in Africa from the time when he was young to the time when he says it has become a place of darkness. The only change was the way of his thoughts. Colonialism made people to bisect the world from "civilized" to "uncivilized" as "light" to "darkness".
5. The setting is critical to the apprehension of the story as a whole because "setting" is "setting". It sets who the narrator is, the background, the characters and the brief look of themes which are important to know from the beginning so that people can approach to the theme easily. Especially like Heart of Darkness has a frame story and a serious topic of colonialism, readers will have a hard time on reading if they didn't even get the setting. The story is taking place in Africa while it is being told in England by Marlow.
1. The frame story of the Heart of Darkness is the scene in which the novel begins, on a ship "The Nellie, a cruising yawl swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest." (page 15 paragraph 1). This yawl is anchored in the Thames river of London in the midst of a tranquil and serene scene. A group of seamen on the Nellie are listening to the tale their fellow crew member is beginning to tell them.
ReplyDelete2. The two narrators of the Heart of Darkness are two crew members of the Nellie, one is left nameless, the narrator of the frame story, "He [Marlow] was the only man of us who still 'followed the sea'"(page 18 paragraph 3). While the narrator of the actual story is the seaman Marlow, "I [Marlow] had then, as you remember, just returned to London after a lot of..." (page 21 paragraph 3)
3.Darkness is portrayed in two different aspects in the very beginning of the story. The first aspect is darkness shown through the setting, although the characters are there watching a sunset they describe it as "...dull red without rays and without heat, as if to go out suddenly..." (page 16 paragraph 2). "Only the gloom to the west, brooding over the upper reaches, became more sombre every minute, as if angered by the approach of the sun." (page 16 paragraph 2). The second aspect of darkness is portrayed in the description of the civilization of how London once was and how they believe Africa to be like now. "But darkness was here [London] yesterday." (page 19 paragraph 1)
4. The colonial irony having to do with the Heart of Darkness has to do with how England was once the land of "darkness" or in other words, the uncivilized land. However, England was then invaded and civilization was incorporated into the English people's lives and now they see themselves as a "lit" land and people, "We live in the flicker-may it last as long as the old earth keeps rolling!" (page 19 paragraph 1). Yet, when the formerly "dark", "uncivilized" English people look at Africa and the civilizations within, they see "darkness" and a civilization that needs light to be brought to it. The English believed that the Africans needed to have the English peoples standards of civilization in order to be considered a place of "light and true civilization".
5. The setting is crucial to the understanding of this novel because the setting is what sets the theme for the entire book in the beginning. We are introduced with a land that is considered to be the "light land" the "land of civilized people". However, this land is described as gloomy and brooding, "...stricken to death by the touch of that gloom brooding over a crowd of men." (page 16 paragraph 2). While the actual story is taking place in Africa, a place where the English describe as "dark". I have a feeling that during the story, we will see Africa being described with many descriptions of light, implying that the place that people assume to be "dark and uncivilized" is actually the brightest of them all.
1. The frame story of the Heart of Darkness is the scene in which the novel begins, on a ship "The Nellie, a cruising yawl swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest." (page 15 paragraph 1). This yawl is anchored in the Thames river of London in the midst of a tranquil and serene scene. A group of seamen on the Nellie are listening to the tale their fellow crew member is beginning to tell them.
ReplyDelete2. The two narrators of the Heart of Darkness are two crew members of the Nellie, one is left nameless, the narrator of the frame story, "He [Marlow] was the only man of us who still 'followed the sea'"(page 18 paragraph 3). While the narrator of the actual story is the seaman Marlow, "I [Marlow] had then, as you remember, just returned to London after a lot of..." (page 21 paragraph 3)
3.Darkness is portrayed in two different aspects in the very beginning of the story. The first aspect is darkness shown through the setting, although the characters are there watching a sunset they describe it as "...dull red without rays and without heat, as if to go out suddenly..." (page 16 paragraph 2). "Only the gloom to the west, brooding over the upper reaches, became more sombre every minute, as if angered by the approach of the sun." (page 16 paragraph 2). The second aspect of darkness is portrayed in the description of the civilization of how London once was and how they believe Africa to be like now. "But darkness was here [London] yesterday." (page 19 paragraph 1)
4. The colonial irony having to do with the Heart of Darkness has to do with how England was once the land of "darkness" or in other words, the uncivilized land. However, England was then invaded and civilization was incorporated into the English people's lives and now they see themselves as a "lit" land and people, "We live in the flicker-may it last as long as the old earth keeps rolling!" (page 19 paragraph 1). Yet, when the formerly "dark", "uncivilized" English people look at Africa and the civilizations within, they see "darkness" and a civilization that needs light to be brought to it. The English believed that the Africans needed to have the English peoples standards of civilization in order to be considered a place of "light and true civilization".
ReplyDelete5. The setting is crucial to the understanding of this novel because the setting is what sets the theme for the entire book in the beginning. We are introduced with a land that is considered to be the "light land" the "land of civilized people". However, this land is described as gloomy and brooding, "...stricken to death by the touch of that gloom brooding over a crowd of men." (page 16 paragraph 2). While the actual story is taking place in Africa, a place where the English describe as "dark". I have a feeling that during the story, we will see Africa being described with many descriptions of light, implying that the place that people assume to be "dark and uncivilized" is actually the brightest of them all.
1.In the Heart of Darkness, the frame story takes place in what is now known as present day Chelsea, London. The story starts with five men resting on “The Nellie”, there personal stationary yawl. “The flood had made the , the wind was nearly calm, and being bound don the river. the only thing for it was to come to and what for the turn of the tide”(pg.). They are reminiscing about their lives and also about the previous explorers who once roamed the waters.
ReplyDelete2.The two narrators in The Heart of Darkness are somewhat hidden in complicated names and also just simply unknown. In the frame story, the narrator is somewhat hidden and not named and the named narrator is Marlow , in which the unnamed narrator listens too onboard The Nellie.
3. The theme of darkness that is first portrayed in the setting of this story is “Only the gloom to the west, brooding over the upper reaches, became more sombre every minute, as if angered by the approach of the sun”(p.16). The words used to describe the atmosphere are quite depressing and dreary.
In the introduction, it is stated that the Europeans went to Africa for advances such as wealth, power, religion, trade and exploration, but later on, it is said that the Romans first invaded England nineteen hundred years ago , which makes it ironic since they are repeating history over again. In this, it is also Ironic in the way that the British see the Africans as “dark and uncivilized”, but in retrospect, they were the original conquered people who were thought of like this, and it is even more ironic that they are attempting to put light into the Africans life when previously, they were in the African’s position.
5. I think the setting is critical to the understanding of the novel as a whole because it shows the contrasts of both the Nations, but at the same time. It can express England’s thoughts, and fears, while at the same time expressing Africa and there reasonings and reality. It can be seen as a sort of portal, with some narration being delineated in London and then also in respect to Africa, being described through Marlow’s many stories.
Adrianna Cutis
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ReplyDeleteNika Koda
ReplyDeleteA4
10/1/10
1) The definition of frame story is a story in a story, where in the book “Heart of Darkness”, the “frame story” establishes on the river Thames in England. It opens up to five men listing to this one man’s words, which were talking about a man who once traveled with them, named Marlow. “The Nellie, a cruising yawl swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest." This quote is the opening sentence to the story, which foreshadows the theme of darkness that is to come in the rest of the book.
2) The narrator is a mysterious passenger on the ship, who is talking to his fellow companion, who starts to talk about his fellow mate, Marlow. Then it continues on to Marlow himself talking about his trip, which is depicted in the first person. The tense of the story is sent in the past, painting a picture of loss of civilization, or the lack there of.
3) The Heart of Darkness emphasizes the theme of darkness by repeating certain words associated with the theme over a number of pages, where the words paint a picture that is very gloomy as well as depressing.
“And at last, in its curved and imperceptible fall, the sun sank low,
and from glowing white changed to a dull red without rays and
with out heat, as if about to go out suddenly stricken to the death
by the touch of that gloom brooding over crowd of men.”
The sun represents the hope in these men, especially of the goal of the English people; however, their goal their goal is represented as if there is no hope or faith. Additional themes of darkness cover other ideas as well, such as how civilized people are expected to be happier than those who are uncivilized, but in reality, whether this is true or not is a question that is visited often.
4) The irony of colonization is shown throughout the whole story, since the people of England believe Africa is uncivilized in comparison, although England was the same in the past as well. In addition, the people of England claim they are the “Light” and Africa as the “Dark”. As the darkness is portrayed throughout the story, it foreshadows as well as reflects the differences between the non-civilized and civilized people, while keeping the following question intact: who is really the light?
5) The story takes place in England and Africa. This becomes very crucial since the theme is based on African civilization and the pushing of England’s “civilized” ways. The understanding of Africa and the perceptive of the under story between both relationships foreshadow the depth of darkness, which emanates throughout the story. The story being told describes the fear that both sides are feeling though the frame story, where feelings for each other are described. Therefore, without the setting, the story would loose its strength, which is why it is crucial for the book.
1) The ‘frame story’ is set on ‘The Nellie, a cruising yawl,’ (pg 15) anchored in the river called ‘Thames’ (pg 15), in England. Marlow, a crew member, sits in the ‘pose of a Buddha preaching in European clothes’ (pg 20), while surrounded by a group of other crew members, retelling his journey in Africa.
ReplyDelete2) There are two narrators in Heart of Darkness, the first (frame story) narrator is not named, however he is a crew member due to the fact that he is listening to Marlow (the second narrator); Marlow ‘was the only one of us who still ‘followed the sea.’’ (pg 18). The second narrator (as I mentioned earlier) is Marlow, he is the one who recounts his journey in Africa, and the one who enjoyed moving on his ‘own road’ (pg 22) instead of going on others’ roads.
3) Darkness plays a major role of symbolism throughout pages 15-30; darkness is portrayed throughout the setting, as a tyrant. No matter what, London could never stay bright; the sky ‘was a benign immensity of unstained light’ (pg 16), however, the gloom to the west ‘became more sombre every minute, as if angered by the approach of the sun’ (pg 16), London ‘has been one of the dark places of the earth.’; these could symbolize the effect of ‘when the Romans first came’ to London (pg 18) and what the Brits are doing to the Africans now.
4) The colonial irony in Heart of Darkness is that in page 22, Marlow mentions that ‘the blank spaces’ that filled up Africa, was ‘a delightful mystery’ for ‘a boy to dream gloriously over’. However, as the years pass, the African map started to become filled with names of ‘rivers and lakes’ (which the British empire found through geographical militant) and therefore became dark from writings; this darkness symbolizes the darkness of the Brits taking over Africa. Another irony is that long before London became civilized, the Romans had some African soldiers (during the time when Rome took over London), which therefore means that Africa took over London first and was civilized before London! HAH!
5) The setting is very crucial for the reader’s understanding, especially with a story that also has a ‘frame story’, because, it introduces the characters and a little bit of their background, and sets the themes (for the readers to have a deeper understanding). Because of the ‘frame story’ taking place in London and Marlow’s story taking place in Africa, the contrast between the two becomes a foreshadow of each country/continent’s true shade or colours.
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ReplyDelete1.) In the book the Heart of Darkness the “frame story” takes place on a ship that is on the river Thames in Chelsea. “The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest” (pg. 15). The scene begins where the sea men are talking and reflecting back about the explorers that once sailed the waters and why one would like to explore land that is so different from the “civilized” “nice” world they live in.
ReplyDelete2. ) There are two narrators in the Heart of Darkness. both of the narrators are crew members on the ship of Nellie. The narrator of the “frame story” is not named yet we know that he is one of the five men that are listening to Marlow, who is the second narrator in the story. Marlow who tells the “other story” begins talking about the Romans and then his life experience. “I suppose you fellows remember I did once turn fresh- water sailor for a bit” (pg.21). The story progresses with both Marlow and the unnamed narrator “talking”.
3.) The author, Joseph Conrad portrays the theme of darkness in variety of ways. First, the theme of darkness is portrayed in the settings of the story. “The air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless over the biggest, and the greatest, town on earth” (pg 15). From the beginning of the story the author portrays darkness and an dark mood. He also talks about the darkness within exploring new and unknown lands such as the awful climate and lands that is really different from the“nice” life you spend. The author also constantly uses Anaphora in the text. The word “darkness” is constantly said. “Has been one of the dark places of the earth” (pg 18), “But darkness was here yesterday” (pg 19) are some of the examples of when darkness is portrayed.
4.) The thread of “Colonial Irony” that is presented in the book the Heart of Darkness is viewed in the very beginning of the story. “When the Romans first came here, nineteen hundred years ago- the other day.... Light came out of this river” (pg. 18) England was once known as a place of “darkness”, meaning that it was not civilized. England was civilized by the Romans and though they were invaded they view this when “light” entered England and the peoples lives were more civilized. The ironic part of this is that England has become one of the lands that are colonizing new lands in Africa. Though England was at first in the same situation as Africa (where they were uncivilized) they are calling the place “dark” . They also believed that by invading the lands in Africa they were bring “light” into the land and would be able to bring civilization and a better life for the people.
ReplyDelete5.) The setting in the Heart of Darkness which is basically England and Africa is very important to this novel since I think this is the main theme of this book. Though the two settings make it hard for us to understand the story at first, it is very crucial and important to the understanding and comparison between the idea of imperialism. At this point the land that is in the “light” and that is known to be the “good world” (civilized world) is England. On the other hand the so called “dark world” and “uncivilized land” is Africa. Because of these two settings we get both ideas of the “light” world and the “dark” world and are able to compare and see how places are shaped and colonized.
1. The "frame story" in The Heart of Darkness, is the first part where the 5men were sitting on a deck of Nellie. "The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest.” (15pg) And Marlow, one of the crew starts to talk about the darkness of the history with his experiences.
ReplyDelete2. There are two narrators in this story. At the first, the narrator is an unnamed person from the 5 men who were on the deck of the Nellie. Though later on, the narrator changes to Marlow, who was described by the first narrator. “He had sunken cheeks, a yellow complexion,… resembled an idol.”(16pg)
3. The theme of Darkness is being portrayed in lots of ways. First of all, in this book, the setting is described as dull and dark. “And at last, in its curved and imperceptible fall, the sun sank low, and from lowing white changed… that gloom brooding over a crowd of men.” Also in this book, Africa is considered as “dark side.” “There were men enough to face the darkness.”(19pg)
4. The thread of "Colonial Irony" was shown at the part where it talked about when Romans came, and tried to colonize the uncivilized Africa. “I was thinking of very old times, when the Roman first came here, nineteen hundred year ago… you say Knights?(pg18-19) Since Africa was considered as dark side, the Romans tried to enlighten them. This meant that the civilized Romans were considered as the “light side.”
5. The setting of this book took place at the Nellie, the yawl which is crucial to the understanding of the novel as a whole. The reason is because the setting was described in the begging of the story. "The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest.” (15pg) Therefore, the setting foreshadows this story, which later on it will change to Africa and London because Marlow starts to talk about the deep history of it.
1. The frame story of Heart of Darkness is told in the Nellie, the yawl that waits for the flood to be over in Thames, England. There are five men on the ship, the Director, the Lawyer, the Accountant, Marlow, and the unknown narrator, commemorating the "men and ships it [Thames] has borne to the rest of home or to the battles of the sea" (Conrad 17). From this 'frame' setting, another story is told by Marlow, The story that happens on the Nellie is the frame of the book that unfolds the other story simultaneously via one of the crews that appears in the frame story.
ReplyDelete2. There are two narrators in the book. The narrator of the frame story is unknown. He is one of the five crews who are on the Nellie. The unknown narrator takes the role of describing the frame of the story and personality of another narrator, Marlow. Marlow is the second narrator of this book, who spins yarns his previous experience in Africa and his view points regarding the matter of colonialism. Marlow is illustrated by the unknown narrator as "... sunken cheeks, a yellow complexion, a straight back, an ascetic aspect, and with his arms dropped, the palms of hands outwards, resembled an idol" (Conrad 16), and ",,, a Buddha preaching in European clothes and without a lotus-flower" (Conrad 20). These images of Marlow incorporate with the idea of darkness and light, where he is implied as the one who brings enlightenment and civilization.
3. The theme of darkness, "brooding gloom" is repeatedly presented in both the frame story and Marlow's story. The juxtaposition of light and darkness is directly associated with civilization and barbarization, where London and England are described as the place with light and Africa is described as "a place of darkness" (Conrad 22).
4. The colonial irony of Africa and England comes from the time of Roman conquest, when the Romans came to England and "Light came out of this river since" (Conrad 19). At the time, when England was still dark, and English hadn't arrived in the land of England, there were Africans with the Romans. The fact that Africans were one of the people who had brought light to England before English and how the situation reversed nineteen hundred years after - now it is English people who are trying to spread its civilization, bringing its light back to Africa, where it had originally come from- creates the colonial irony of this book.
5. The setting of any story is very crucial in leading the story as a whole. Setting is the basic sketch of the whole picture and therefore must be carefully planned in order to advance to the next development. The setting of Heart of Darkness, the way of telling story via frame story format, plays crucial role in the novel as a whole as well. The story is being told in Thames, England, the place of light. However, the story takes place in Africa, the darkest place on the Earth. This juxtaposition made from the setting contributes to the theme of the whole book, the contrast between darkness and light.
Heart of Darkness opens with five men unnamed men sitting on a cruise yawl, the Nellie. Surrounded by the tidal current, the men are “crowded with memories of men and ships…” (page 17 paragraph 1). The men recall such memories sharing tales of sailing and exploration becoming the frame story of Heart of Darkness.
ReplyDeleteThere are two narrators in Heart of Darkness; one who narrates the frame story and another who narrates the story within it, the main story. The man who narrates the frame story does so as an anonymous crew member aboard the Nellie who listens to the second narrator, Marlow, as he narrates the main story.
Darkness is portrayed throughout the book as an element of imagery and tone illustrating a somber setting in which “ the gloom to the west, brooding over the upper reaches, became more somber every minute, as if angered by the approach of the sun.” (page 16 paragraph 1). Darkness also serves as an embodiment to Marlow’s view on Africa, imperialism in Africa and the irony of it as “Darkness was here (London) yesterday ” (page 19 paragraph 1).
Marlow refers to the Romans who included soldiers from Africa overthrowing pre-civilized Britain nineteen hundred years ago “I was thinking of very old times, when the Romans first came here, nineteen hundred years ago-the other day…” (page 18 paragraph 4). The irony of this is that not only did Africans once in fact assist in the conquest over Britain, but also, at that time, Britain was seen as uncivilized and barbaric just as Britain sees Africa. Marlow says “But darkness was here yesterday” (page 19 paragraph 1) acknowledging the irony of the imperialism in Africa as well as expressing the European view of being uncivilized as being dark and being civilized as being light.
Understanding the novel as a “whole” and its setting is crucial to the story because it allows the reader knowledge of where different view points on imperialism, dark and light, conquest ect… are coming from. In other words, without such knowledge the reader may not understand why the opinions or actions of the characters may differ so much from one another or why they happened at all. Furthermore, in my opinion, it is best not to be confused as to where/ what you are reading about.
1. The frame story is set at the very beginning in “The Heart of Darkness”, from page 15 to page 21, and it sets the stage for the other story to come. The introduction draws a picture of “The Nellie, a cruising yawl” (pg 15) at rest on the Thames river in England, and on it 5 seamen discuss about the “the old times when the Romans first came here, 1900 years ago...” (pg 18). One seamen finally starts narrating and telling his other fellow seamen about his experiences, stating, “I don’t want to bother you much about with what happened to me personally, yet to understand the effect of it on me you ought to know how I got there, what I saw, how I went up that river ...” (pg. 21).This story within a story is the frame story.
ReplyDelete2. The two crew members on the Nellie are the two narrators. One is Marlow, the narrator of the story within a story, and the other is an unnamed seaman who narrates the frame story by using words such as “we” and “us”. Marlow is identified as the narrator on page 23, “I, Charlie Marlow, set the women to work- to get a job. Heavens!”
3. The theme of darkness is being portrayed mainly through how the setting is described. From the first page England is described as a gloomy dark place. “The air was dark above Gravesend and farther back still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless over the biggest, and the greatest town on earth.” The other way darkness is portrayed is through the description of England when the “Romans first came”. London was just like Africa, about to be colonized and brought into the light from “darkness” through introduction to new ideas. “But darkness was here yesterday” (pg. 19). Colonialization isn’t always a positive thing.
1. The frame story of the Heart of Darkness is of five men resting on the tranquil deck of a pleasure ship named the, “ Nellie”. The five men consists of the Director of Companies (Captain), The lawyer, The accountant, Marlow and the anonymous narrator of the inner story in The Heart of Darkness. In addition to the imagery of the ever so flawless sunset, the placidity and calmness on the deck of the ship is italicized as the physical state of one of the passengers are put in juxtaposition with the universal symbol of peace, Buddha. As the tango orange sky started to die off and the subtle twilight prevail or as one of the crew describes it as “Less Brilliant but more profound” ; The anonymous narrator drifts into the story away from Marlows narrative.
ReplyDelete2. The narrator of the inner story in the heart of darkness remains extremely ambiguous to the point where all we can say with assurance is that the narrator is someone on the “Nellie”. The other author, the author of the frame story is Marlow as can be inferred from the style and perspective of the writing.
3. It seems that Conrad, the author of the novel utilizes extreme articulative imagery in the first sectional reading we completed. He especially puts an outstanding emphasis on the visual ying-yang relation of the dark and light. Light and Dark……Perhaps more appropriatley put as, The dark within the light. I, although a mere speculation, assume that his imagery describing londons weather is symbolic of Londons actions. Light being symbolic of colonized civilization and civility, and obviously the dark being emblematic of barbaric uncivilized cultures such as the one marlow saw when he was a young child. London, although superficially a civilized community, depending on how one interprets the situation, could be seen as doing something extremely barbaric uncivilized(colonization/ stealing and wiping them out).
4. The colonial irony is this.
London was once a “dark” country. They were conquered and conformed by Rome AGAINST THEIR WILL. Now, London is attempting to conform Africa. One may call this colonial Irony. I call this the vicious cycle, the fatal aspect of colonizations that gives it the eternal continuity it has to repeat its self form one place to the other.
5. The Frame story as previously mentioned is taking place in the novel on a ship called the Nellie Being Told by Marlow. The inner story is being told By Marlow on the Nellie addressing one of the passengers story about their encounter with Africa.
1. The frame story of the Heart of Darkness is of five men resting on the tranquil deck of a pleasure ship named the, “ Nellie”. The five men consists of the Director of Companies (Captain), The lawyer, The accountant, Marlow and the anonymous narrator of the inner story in The Heart of Darkness. In addition to the imagery of the ever so flawless sunset, the placidity and calmness on the deck of the ship is italisized as the physical state of one of the passengers are put in jutxtaposition with the universal symbol of peace, Buddha. As the tango orange sky started to die off and the subtle twilight prevail or as one of the crew describes it as “Less Brilliant but more profound” ; The anonymous narrator drifts into the story away from marlows narrative.
ReplyDelete2. The narrator of the inner story in the heart of darkness remains extremley ambiguous to the point where all we can say with assurance is that the narrator is someone on the “Nellie”. The other author, the author of the frame story is marlow as can be inferred from the style and perspective of the writing.
3. It seems that Conrad, the author of the novel utilizes extreme articulative imagery in the first sectional reading we completed. He especially puts an outstanding emphasis on the visual ying-yang relation of the dark and light. Light and Dark……Perhaps more appropriatley put as, The dark within the light. I, although a mere speculation, assume that his imagery describing londons weather is symbolic of Londons actions. Light being symbolic of colonized civilization and civility, and obviously the dark being emblematic of barbaric uncivilized cultures such as the one marlow saw when he was a young child. London, although superficially a civilized community, depending on how one interprets the situation, could be seen as doing something extremley barbaric uncilized(colonization/ stealing and wiping them out).
4. The colonial irony is this.
London was once a “dark” country. They were conquered and conformed by Rome AGAINST THEIR WILL. Now, London is attempting to conform Africa. One may call this collonial Irony. I call this the vicious cycle, the fatal aspect of colonizations that gives it the eternal continuity it has to repeat its self form one place to the other.
5. The Frame story as previously mentioned is taking place in the novel on a ship called the Nellie Being Told by Marlow. The inner story is being told By marlow on the Nellie addressing one of the pasengers story about their encounter with africa.
Sorry the last 2 questions got cut.But here they are. Sorry it is late by 14 min.
ReplyDelete4. The colonial irony present in this story is the fact that England was once a “dark” nation untamed and very primitive. However through the Romans as stated on page 19, England became the empire on which the sun never sets. Africa is just like England 1900 years before, not colonized and very ancient in terms of technological and social advancement. Therefore it can be called a nation that is dark, not yet introduced into the light or enlightened by the more intellectual and civilized English. However, countries under unwanted oppressive rule is thought by Marlow to be in darkness, and Africa may end up being in greater darkness than before. England is the mother nation that gives light to the rest of the world by introducing the foreign countries to their ways.
5. The importance of the setting in this novel is due to the main ideas explored through this book; the ideas being imperialism and colonialism and how one nation seeks to control the other less advanced nation. The story is told on the Nellie in England, but the story takes place in Africa and the two settings clearly show the two nations involved in colonialism.
1. The frame story takes place on Thames, where five sea men are decked on the yawl, "The Nellie." The frame leads into the actual 'picture' of the story when Marlow began to explain how the place where they were decked "has been one of the dark places of the earth (Conrad 18)."
ReplyDelete2. The narrator of the frame story is an anonymous man. The readers are able to infer that he is one of the seamen on board The Nellie as he depicts the scenery of Thames and the other men on board. The narrator is met with a transition when Marlow starts his description of "the very old times, when the Romans first came here (Conrad 18)."
3. The theme of darkness is hinted throughout the section. The author's continued remarks about the sea being bright, but soon to set, illustrates how without the sun, everything becomes dark. These remarks could then be connected with other continuous remarks of something shadowing over another: "since your strength is just an accident, arising from the weakness of others (Conrad 20)." When an object is overshadowed, a shadow is created, resulting in that object to look inferior compared to the brighter object. Lastly, as we read on through the chapter, Marlow explains how "It [the map of Africa] had ceased to be a blank space of delightful mystery - a white patch for a boy to dream gloriously over. It had become a place of darkness (Conrad 22)." From these connections, I could make a hypothesis that because some of the African countries, because of the immense development of England and other technologically advanced countries, look weaker, therefore inferior, the English men have decided to overshadow Africa, creating a shadow, in other words, a place of darkness.
4. The purpose of the English men going to Africa was to 'enlighten' the 'savages' by bringing civilization to them. However, the more the map of Africa filled, the darker the map became. The map "had ceased to be a blank space of delightful mystery... it has become a place of darkness (Conrad 22)."
5. The setting is important to any story, for it is the basic 'framework' and 'bone structure' of a story. The frame story takes place in England, where people "live in the flicker (Conrad 19)." Whereas the actual story takes place in Africa, "a place of darkness (Conrad 22)." This comparison highlights the main theme of the story, the contrast between light and darkness.
Mai Ikushima
ReplyDeleteB1
1. The story is told upon “the Nellie, a cruising yawl,” (p. 15) on the river Thames near Gravesend, during the age of African exploration, which was in the later half of the 1800s. The crew is sitting around their captain, Marlow, to listen to his tale of adventures he had in his youth in Africa.
2. The story is told through an anonymous crewmember’s perspective, and throughout the book, we hear through him Marlow’s tale of African adventure. For example, the crewmember’s emotion or mental comment is added after Marlow’s statements. “His remark did not seem at all surprising. It was just like Marlow. It was accepted in silence.” (p. 18)
3 Darkness is portrayed both literally, “the air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless over the biggest, and the greatest, town on earth.” (p. 15) and allegorically. It is in the air, the atmosphere, the mood, the stories, even the history behind each of the men aboard the Nellie.
4 The symbolic darkness and, in accordance, light are used to create irony in African expansion and English “civilization”. Marlow describes civilization as “a flash of lightning in the clouds.”(p. 19) This means that civilization is a tension-filled, fragile thing, and that it may become too much to sustain its own weight at any given moment, and that whatever it hits, it causes a major burn, like lightning that falls on an earthly object. Colonization of Africa meant that “it had ceased to be a blank space of delightful mystery - a white patch for a boy to dream gloriously over. It had become a place of darkness.” (p. 22) Literally, this means that the unknown spaces of Africa on maps were filled in as investigation reached further inland. Metaphorically, this is interpreted as European and American “civilization” brought into Africa caused it to become filled with corruption, slavery, and darkness.
5 The setting, Africa during the era of colonization, is crucial to the plot because of the great oppression that it faced, just as women did in “civilized” society of the time, and the corrupt “light” that they received from European explorers. The fact that the story is told through a crewmember (upon the Nellie in England) listening to Marlow’s rough memory of Africa, makes Conrad’s opinions more easily accepted because they are less specific, and therefore less aggressive towards the reader.
1. The story is told upon “the Nellie, a cruising yawl,” (p. 15) on the river Thames near Gravesend, during the age of African exploration, which was in the later half of the 1800s. The crew is sitting around their captain, Marlow, to listen to his tale of adventures he had in his youth in Africa.
ReplyDelete2. The story is told through an anonymous crewmember’s perspective, and throughout the book, we hear through him Marlow’s tale of African adventure. For example, the crewmember’s emotion or mental comment is added after Marlow’s statements. “His remark did not seem at all surprising. It was just like Marlow. It was accepted in silence.” (p. 18)
3 Darkness is portrayed both literally, “the air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless over the biggest, and the greatest, town on earth.” (p. 15) and allegorically. It is in the air, the atmosphere, the mood, the stories, even the history behind each of the men aboard the Nellie.
4 The symbolic darkness and, in accordance, light are used to create irony in African expansion and English “civilization”. Marlow describes civilization as “a flash of lightning in the clouds.”(p. 19) This means that civilization is a tension-filled, fragile thing, and that it may become too much to sustain its own weight at any given moment, and that whatever it hits, it causes a major burn, like lightning that falls on an earthly object. Colonization of Africa meant that “it had ceased to be a blank space of delightful mystery - a white patch for a boy to dream gloriously over. It had become a place of darkness.” (p. 22) Literally, this means that the unknown spaces of Africa on maps were filled in as investigation reached further inland. Metaphorically, this is interpreted as European and American “civilization” brought into Africa caused it to become filled with corruption, slavery, and darkness.
ReplyDelete5 The setting, Africa during the era of colonization, is crucial to the plot because of the great oppression that it faced, just as women did in “civilized” society of the time, and the corrupt “light” that they received from European explorers. The fact that the story is told through a crewmember (upon the Nellie in England) listening to Marlow’s rough memory of Africa, makes Conrad’s opinions more easily accepted because they are less specific, and therefore less aggressive towards the reader.