Read pages 55-65 and respond to the following prompts.
Each response must be between 3-5 sentences and include ONE quote.
Cite using MLA format.
Due Dates:
A Block - Thursday by Midnight
B Block - Friday by Midnight
1. What insights does the reader get about Kurtz via the conversation that is overheard by Marlow?
2. Conrad repeatedly refers to the wilderness as being "patient." What does he mean by this?
3. Annotate the following quotation. What is the point Conrad is making? "'The earth seemed unearthly. We were accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there - there you could look at a thing monstrous and free'" (51).
4. Here's another zinger. Annotate the following quotation. It directly follows the one above. "'It was unearthly, and the men were - No, they were not inhuman. Well, you know, that was the worst of it - this suspicion of their not being inhuman'" (51).
5. Conrad has frequently been accused of writing a racist book. Look at the following quote and decide for yourself if you believe this to be a racist quotation. "'And between whiles I had to look after the savage who was fireman. He was an improved specimen; he could fire up a vertical boiler. He was there below me, and, upon my word, to look at him was as edifying as seeing a dog in a parody of breeches and a feather hat, walking on his hind-legs. A few months of training had done for that really fine chap'" (52).
1. The readers get an idea that Kurtz is an impolite, cynical man who does not care about the feelings of the other workers: "'clear this poor devil out of the country, and don't bother sending more of that sort. I had rather be alone than have the kind of men you can dispose of with me'" (Conrad 56).
ReplyDelete2. Marlow describes the wilderness as being patient, and described the feeling of the expedition "was like traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation rioted on the earth and the big trees were kings" (Conrad 59). The nature is never changing and patient, contrasting it's surroundings, which is changing all the time.
3. Marlow is at the heart of Africa where most things were left the way it should be, the wilderness is untouched and there used to be no civilization. They were so used to looking at things thatbwere no longer the way it should be that something true did not look real any longer.
4. Marlow and the inhumane men are contrasts of what he should have been and what he actually is now. The interaction the two brought a sort of realization that "if you were man enough you would admit to yourself that there was in you the faintest trace of a response to that terrible frankness of the noise" (Conrad 63).
5.through the eyes of Marlow, the author looks at the fireman as "a savage" (Conrad 63). He considers the fireman to be an "improved speciman" (Conrad 63) just because he could fire up a vertical boiler with a few months training. The old man is obviously not looked at to have the same intelligence as Marlow has just because he has a different skin tone.
1. Marlow overheard a conversation between the uncle and nephew one night. These men portray Kurtz as being proud, and mysterious. An example of Kurtz' pride is when he sent a note with his assistant that said, "Clear this poor devil out of the country, and don't bother sending more of that sort" (Conrad 56). This shows his self-centered attitude. Also, his mysterious nature is made evident when he turned his back on the headquarters after traveling 300 miles to get there; Marlow had no idea what his motive was.
ReplyDelete2. According to Marlow, the wilderness is patient. Marlow said, "The high stillness confronted these two figures with its ominous patience, waiting for the passing away of a fantastic invasion" (Conrad 58). The wilderness closed upon people entering, and waited ominously for the right moment to snatch their victims up.
3. Marlow is used to seeing the civilized and tamed wilderness. However, in Africa, the wilderness is untamed and uncontrollable. In Conrad's words, the African wilderness was "monstrous and free" (Conrad 62). The jungles in Africa have many mysterious living organisms that can be dangerous. The wilderness in Africa is dangerous and threatening. However, the wilderness Marlow is used to seeing groomed and reassuring.
4. In this quotation, Marlow realizes the falseness of his thoughts. He thought that his men were inhuman, but soon reconsiders his perceptions when he realizes that they are somewhat similar. Conrad said, "They howled, and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces; but what thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity - like yours - the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar" (Conrad 63). Marlow admitted to his kinship with these men that he thought were inhuman; he realizes the shortcomings of his previous thoughts.
5. I believe that Heart of Darkness is a racist book. Conrad constantly refers to native Africans as savages. Conrad said,"He was an improved specimen; he could fire up a vertical boiler" (Conrad 63). He was impressed by this "specimen" because he could do a simple task. This means that he thought Africans were not intelligent and did not fully consider them men.
1. Readers have been implied by Marlow’s saying that Kurtz is quite a negative character. “He was ‘that man.’ The half-caste, who, as far as I could see, had conducted a difficult trip with great prudence and pluck, was invariably alluded to as ‘that scoundrel.’ (Conrad 57) It was pitiful of him that he has not been called by his name, but by ‘that man’ or ‘that scoundrel.’
ReplyDelete2. The way that Marlow describes things are sometimes vague or abstract, and the ‘patient wilderness’ is one of those many. He explained about what the expedition was like, he depicts the wilderness of nature as “vegetation rioted on the earth and the big trees were kings.” (Conrad 59) However, at the same time, he feels that they are very patient and peaceful. “And this stillness of life did not in the least resemble a peace. It was stealness of an implacable force brooding over an inscrutable intention.” (Conrad 60)
3. It was irony to say that the earth seemed unearthly which means not natural and very strange because Africa is one of the most human-untouched territories in the world. But what he meant by the statement is that the world he has seen was like “sometimes we came upon a station close by the bank, clinging to the skirts of the unknown, and the white men rushing out of a tumble-down hovel.” (Conrad 61)
4. As the aborigines are not inhuman, the earth is not unearthly. But since Marlow is not accommodated to the world of those “not-inhuman” humans, so he still believes that the world he came from is real. Somehow he found out that the humans are not inhuman, and I guess it was because they expressed their emotions freely, like “howled, and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces” (Conrad 63)
5. The state is obviously a racist one, but I would not take that quote offensively. We need to look into that quote deeply, not just by looking on the surface. This racial comment only shows how stupid Marlow is, and that is what the author is aiming for. Marlow just said a second ago, “The mind of the man is capable of anything – because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future,” (Conrad 63) but he now says that “he(the fireman) was there below me.” (Conrad 64) If you think carefully, you will notice that it is not coherence to say that man is capable of anything but there are still superiority and inferiority among people.
Marlow overhears a conversation between the uncle and the nephew exposing that Kurtz plans on “turning his back suddenly on the headquarters” (Conrad 57) and is after the managers position ‘he wants to be manager!’ (Conrad 58). It is also revealed that he may be doing so while ill and “recovered imperfectly” (Conrad 57). Reading this, I am left with no impression of Kurtz’ moral character in that although he is conspiring against the company, I do not necessarily see the company as being a good thing. I do however think that, moral character good or bad, Kurtz’ illness makes him somewhat mentally instable and unfit for whatever job he holds with the company.
ReplyDeleteReferring to a “patient” wilderness also refers to the impatience of the Europeans and civilization. Although civilization is constantly changing and pushing to move forward, the wilderness remains the same, or “patient” with no push or need for change. Marlow relates the wilderness and going up its river to “traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world…” (Conrad 59), in other words, it has not changed.
Marlow is accustomed to a tamed world; or as he describes it, “shackled form of a conquered monster…” (Conrad 62). Coming to Africa however, Marlow is exposed to untamed parts of the world so different from his own that to him it seems “unearthly” (Conrad 62). To Marlow, he unfamiliarity and unearthliness of the world stands as though it was unable to be tamed as his civilized world was making it “monstrous and free” (Conrad 62).
Dehumanizing the African workers makes it easier to exploit them. Through Marlow’s exposure to Africa and through his growing distrust for the company, Marlow is beginning realize that the people he once saw as being below him are more the same than they are as he wanted them to be, different “No, they were not inhuman. Well, you know, that was the worst of it” (Conrad 62). This realization makes Marlow uncomfortable because in seeing them as being human, Marlow is obligated to treat them as human rather than inhuman savages.
Although Marlow is talking about the improvement and usefulness of the fireman, he still calls him a “specimen” (Conrad 64) and compares him to a dog “to look at him was as edifying as seeing a dog in a parody of breeches and a feather hat, walking on his hind legs” (Conrad 64). For these reasons I believe that the statement made by Marlow is a racist statement in that he compares the fireman only to inhuman things rather than an actual person. However, I do not believe that Heart of Darkness is a racist book rather it is an accurate portrayal of what the viewpoints of characters would have if they were real.
1.As Marlow eavesdrops the uncle and nephew's conversation, the reader may get the image that Kurtz is quite successful yet his current being is a mystery. Since the two speak ill of Kurtz in a jealous tone ("Look at the influence the man must have. is it not frightful?" (Conrad 56)), it seems as though Kurtz's success so far has tampered their chances of it. Also as the two murmur "doctor...nine months-no news-strange rumours" (Conrad 57), although they despise him enough to plot to murder him, they are currently unsure of his state of health, thus deepening the reader curiosity about his being.
ReplyDelete2. I think this is implying how 'still' the wilderness continues to be as the men venture deeper into it. The lines "the air was warm, thick, heavy, sluggish. There was no joy in the brilliance of sunshine. The long stretches of the waterway ran on, deserted, into the gloom of overshadowed distances" (Conrad 59) imply that the wilderness seems 'unhappy' that its beauty is being invaded, thus perhaps the term 'patient' is used ironically. It is 'frustrated' with the men, yet unable to do anything, therefore waiting 'patiently' while the men pass.
3. This connects to Marlow's comment on how the Romans traveled through the "sandbanks, marshes, forests, savages" (Conrad 19) as they went up the Thames and how it was "one of the dark places of the earth" (Conrad 18). In this case, Marlow experiences the same situation as he goes deeper into the wilderness, becoming exposed nature that was "monstrous and free" (Conrad 62), which he had previously only seen in the form of it being 'shackled' and 'conquered'.
4. As he describes the shock of experiencing an environment so very different from his own, he adds on about how he no longer believes in the prejudices he once held against the natives - "the mind of man is capable of anything - because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future" (Conrad 63).
5. Everything in those sentences, from "he was an improved specimen" (Conrad 63) to "a few months of training had done for that really fine chap" (Conrad 64) could be taken offensively. However, I think part of 'Heart of Darkness' is about how Marlow's viewpoints about certain aspects of life have changed due to his experiences. Therefore, I think Conrad included these sentences to emphasize on the fact that Marlow does have prejudiced veiwpoints that he was raised with, yet is currently struggling to figure out what he actually believes is morally 'right' or 'wrong'.
1. Kurtz is depicted as a competitive as well as on the inconsiderate side, “I had rather be alone than have the kind of men you can dispose of with me.” (Conrad 56) meaning he was strategic however, he does not consider the general welfare of those that can be “disposed”. Kurtz thinks about profit rather than well being which can be a pro in certain cases.
ReplyDelete2. The wilderness is referred to as “patient” throughout this section of the story to emphasize the contrast between the patient mother nature and the constant change of the European group living within the “patient” nature. “In a few days the Eldorado Expedition went into the patient wilderness, that closed upon it as the sea closes over a diver.” (Conrad 59)
3. Marlow, having lived in a “civilized” place felt that Africa was a wild, uncivilized, “unearthly” (Conrad 62) place that held the persona of a monstrous creature. “…the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar.” (Conrad 63)
4. The people of the “wild land”, Africa who were used as slaves for the European inhabitants were recognized as something lower than humans. However Marlow determines that “…they were not inhuman.” (Conrad 62), recognizing them as humans although different from what most considered to be civilized humans. This made it difficult for him to exploit them and use them as machines rather than living, breathing souls equal to his own.
ALIA'S COMMENT (CONT.)
ReplyDelete5. I believe that the way in which Conrad refers to the slaves is very much so racist “... look at him was as edifying as seeing a dog in a parody of breeches and a feather hat, walking on his hind legs” (Conrad 64). Conrad compares the slaves to dogs, a creature often thought of as far below humans on the intellectual scale. This degradation of slaves by comparing them to dogs I believe to be very much so racist. Also in other sections of the novel the African-American's were described as "not inhuman" (Conrad 62), "not inhuman" does not necessarily state that they are human therefore we can interpret this as a subtle racist insult.
1. Via the conversation overheard by Marlow, readers might get the impression of Kurtz as being an efficient yet crude man. Although the manager and his uncle don't talk any good about Kurtz, since the readers already know the personality of those two men, the readers also would notice about the information is filtered by the view of nephew and the uncle. Therefore if the readers get rid of the filter, they would perceive the image of Kurtz as being extremely successful in his work since "lots of it [ivory}- prime sort - lots- most annoying, from him" (Conrad 56). From the vexed tone of the manager, the readers would also recognize Kurtz's influential and leading characteristic, which in fact, overwhelm the manager.
ReplyDelete2. The nature is often personified as being patient and vengeful. Conrad creates the contrast between abiding and overwhelming nature and tiny humans' attempt to utilize the nature. The nature's "mysterious stillness watching me at my monkey tricks" ( Conrad 60) as if it is indeed condescending to humans and is waiting for all their useless and aimless attempts to stop.
3. Conrad expresses his astonishment in seeing wilderness of Africa throughout the book. One of his biggest shock, perhaps, was to see indigenous people who had still been living in primitive way. I believe the "a thing monstrous and free" (Conrad 62) does not only restrict to the wild animals that were kept captive but also wild humans. Perhaps Conrad was used to seeing African slaves, yet seeing the Africans in their indigenous villages must have come as a sensation to him.
4. Again, the contact with the African villagers must have left strong impression. The fact that both the natives and Conrad were the same human species was pretty hard to conceive, yet Conrad claims that men are definitely capable of admitting the truth since "The mind of man is capable of anything - because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future" (Conrad 62). Despite the great cultural differences, the Africans, who are at the heart of darkness, and the Europeans, with the torches are basically sharing the same root that exist in any human being.
5. I believe the quote might be taken as racist insult since Marlow's attitude of dealing the "savage" is definitely condescending. "He was an improved specimen; he could fire up a vertical boiler" (Conrad 63). The African worker is perceived as an improvement compare to his ethnic peers only because he is capable of utilizing the European technologies according to the instructions given to him. The statement is based on the assumption that the European civilization is superior to the indigenous African culture to the point where the tiny fraction of the bliss of civilization would bring up one's status above the one's peers. Although I don't really know whether Conrad is racist, I believe the quote itself can be definitely considered as a racist umbrage.
1. There are many insights the reader gets about Kurtz from the conversation that is overheard by Marlow. Kurtz who is the inner chief of the Inner station is a very successful in his work “Look at the influence that man must have. Is it not frightful?” (Conrad 56). Still many, such as the manager and his uncle (through the conversation) show us readers how Kurtz is not liked for all his succes. From this readers get a view that both of the characters are somewhat jealous of the the extreme influences Kurtz has made. “How did that ivory come all this way?”(Conrad 56).
ReplyDelete2. I think that Conrad repeatedly refers to the wilderness as being “patient” since the wilderness never changes and is the same as on the other hand the world around it constantly is changing. “Going up that river was like traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world” (Conrad 59). This shows us how wilderness is patient and is not changing while the world around it is “not patient” and is rapidly trying to change and move on. On the other hand though the people are destroying and invading the patient wilderness into something that is more different and so called "civilized."
3. “Monstrous and free”(Conrad 62), represents the wilderness that in uncontrolled and dangerous. Unlike the wilderness in Africa Marlow is used to the civilized world and the wilderness that is safe and that is in control. Therefore the world he entered (Africa) was “unearthly” (Conrad 62). Therefore the wilderness was like a Monstrous world but at the same time it was free since no one invaded it or changed it from what it was like from a long time ago.
4. Marlow who has entered the “monstrous and free” (Conrad 62) world of Africa figures out that the people (africans/ natives) that he once thought were inhumane turned out that “they were not inhumane”(Conrad 62). The fact that the natives were human like all of them was a really hard fact to accept and it made it difficult for Marlow to treat them “harshly” (as slaves etc).
5. I do not think that the quote should be taken by a racist quotation. The whole passage such as,“I had to look after a savage who was a fireman"(Conrad 52) can be taken offensively yet, I think that Conrad included it to show Marlow`s perspectives of things not just to say something racist about something. From some peoples perspective conrad can be accused of writing a racist book but I think that he incorporated this quote to emphasize and to show ones perpective (in this case Marlow`s) to the readers. Hear of Darkness isnt written to show a racist viewpoint but is to show the reality of what people would think in the real world if they were in a situation similar to the characters in the book.
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ReplyDelete1. I think the conversation that is overheard by Marlow made the readers think that Kurtz is a negative man. “Ivory,” jerked the nephew; “lots of it – prime sort – lots – most annoying, from him.” (pg56) Since the uncle and the nephew was jealous about Kurtz, they were criticized him.
ReplyDelete2. “Going up that river was like travelling back to the earliest beginning of the world, when vegetation rioted on the earth and the big trees were kings.” (Conrad 59) I think Conrad thought that nature can be described as “patient” things. That is why Conrad repeatedly referred wilderness as being "patient."
3. In Africa, the nature is not changed nor touched. And Marlow thinks that "The earth seemed unearthly.” In the quote “monstrous and free" (Conrad 62), it describes about the nature in Africa, and that he was shocked when he saw it because he was used to see the civilized wilderness. This meant that he was not used to the untouched wilderness or nature.
4. After Marlow got used to the natives in Africa, he started to notice that they were actually not inhuman. “but what thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity – like yours – the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar.” (pg 63)As it says in this quote, he realizes the similarities that they had.
5. "'He was an improved specimen; he could fire up a vertical boiler. He was there below me, and, upon my word, to look at him was as edifying as seeing a dog in a parody of breeches and a feather hat, walking on his hind-legs. A few months of training had done for that really fine chap'" (pg52). I think this quote is half racist status and half not. Because he says that the fireman is below him, and describes him as a dog. Though, at the same time, he says that the fireman improved and could fire up a vertical boiler in a couple months of training.
1 Judging by the reading, I get the sense that Kurtz is an insensitive and competitive man who cares only about self benefit. "I'd rather be alone than have the kind of men you can dispose of with me"(Conrad 56). He also seems quite an oddball t travel over 200 miles only to betray his headquarters "...turning his back suddenly on the headquarters"(Conrad 57).
ReplyDelete2 When he's referring to the wilderness as being "patient", I believe he's implying that the jungle is a creature in its own right, and that it watches and waits for something to happen. "...looked back at the edge of the forest, as though I had expected an answer of some sort to that black display of confidence. You know the foolish notions that come to one sometimes. The high stillness confronted these two figures with its ominous patience, waiting for the passing away of a fantastic invasion.
3 To analyze the quote "The earth seemed unearthly. We were accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there-there you could look at a thing monstrous and free" (Conrad 51)., he states the they were accustomed to a certain way of living-controled governments and etiquette. However upon reaching the heart of Africa, Marlow realizes that Africa is an untamed jungle where things have been the same since they started. Using the words shackled and monstrous might mean that society as a whole is a monstrosity, and the "polite" word we live in is simply a facade created to give the illusion of control. So therefore the monster is shackled, or held down.
4 The fact that one has suspicion of whether or not these men are inhuman is the disturbing point. One would like to believe that these "pilgrims" are people of integrity, however on the flip side, there is this underlying doubt that they dehumanize the Africans. "...the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar"(Conrad 63). Marlow realizes that just because the physical appearance is different, he is actually the same as the Africans, and his misconception of them finally dawns on him.
5 Given the time period it was written, I am in no doubt that this is a novel with racist undertones. Conrad refers to the Africans as "savages" and "specimens" (Conrad 63). It is obvious that there is some Eurocentric concepts applied to the text, including the fact they were looked down upon and not fully recognized as men.
1. According to the conversation overheard by Marlow, Kurtz is revealed to be an unjust man, contrary to the rumors that glorify his colossal shipments of prime ivory. In the discussion, one man mentions that, “We will not be free from unfair competition till one of these fellows is hanged…” (Conrad 57) This hints that Kurtz is using dishonest methods to round up all of his ivory to create his monopoly on ivory, power, and money.
ReplyDelete2. The “patience” of nature is an illustration of the foolishness of man’s attempts of conquering and taming the wilderness. “’…the silent wilderness surrounding this cleared speck on the earth struck me as something great and invincible, like evil or truth, waiting patiently for the passing away of this fantastic invasion.’” (Conrad 44) Here, Marlow implies that when the “invaders” are gone (and they will be), nature will just continue as it had always been doing, washing away any illusion that man had created of subjugating nature.
3. This quotation means that man has not truly tamed nature, but since Marlow had only seen the domesticated form, to him, it was “unnatural” to see nature in such a wild state. In a scene of great tension and fear, Marlow, “’…ordered the chain to be hauled in short, so as to ready to trip the anchor…’” (Conrad 68) This means, literally, that the anchor’s chain was made taught. However, this could imply that Marlow wanted to shorten nature’s chain in a scene of great fear and “unnatural” nature.
4. Marlow’s musing shows that although the Europeans were in a foreign land that they had not been in before, they did not act unusually, or attempt to conform. They only thought to change their surroundings to suit their own needs. Marlow comments on the relationship between the European settlers and Africa, “’we could have fancied ourselves the first of men taking possession of an accursed inheritance, to be subdued at the cost of profound anguish and of excessive toil’” (Conrad 62). Marlow is suggesting that it is the men’s rights to conquer Africa, and changing it to suite their European habits is their burdensome job.
5. Conrad, contrary to some accusing comments, did not write a racist book. He speaks of the fireman in a sarcastic way, pitying him for being forced to do such work that he was not used to. He cannot be indicted a racist, for he equally criticizes the white men and their ways. “’There is something after all in the world allowing one man to steal a horse while another must not look at a halter. Steal a horse straight out’” (Conrad 46). Although some are allowed to get away with anything, others are not allowed even the thought of doing something not within their boundary of rights. Throughout the book, Conrad fairly writes of both sides of the story, with both points of views in mind, therefore he is not a racist.