Heart of Darkness Group project

1. Kim A. Jane L. Ashni P. Angela P. Heart of DarknessGroup project

2. Table of contents: • Characters & Plot • Setting of the Chapter • Important Characters • Key Passages & their thematic ideas • Key Quotes • Symbols & Motifs • Quiz

3. Characters & PlotCharacter’s information is marked with an *

4. Characters Covered • Marlow • Accountant • Lawyer • Director of Companies • Narrator • Aunt • Manager • The Brickmaker • The Head Mechanic • Secretary • Company Boss • Two Knitting Women • Fresleven • Swedish Captain • Kurtz • Chief Accountant • Clerk • Manager’s Uncle • Doctor

5. Page 1 • Nellie anchored at river Thames • London behind them • Five of them • *Director of Companies was captain and host • Dressed like a sailor (sign of trustworthiness) • Actually worked in London, not water • *Lawyer – great guy; cushion b/c of virtues • *Accountant – dominoes, building shapes • *Marlow – sat cross-legged, leaning on mast, sunken cheeks, yellow complexion, straight back, sour demeanor, palms facing up like God • Director of Companies set anchor; dominoes and chatting

6. Page 2 • *Narrator – not much is known • Sun sank • River bore memories of men, ships, battles • Sir Francis Drake • Sir John Franklin • Golden Hind • Erebus and Terror

7. Page 3 • Sun finally set • Lights along shore and ship lights turned on • Marlow said, “And this also has been one of the dark places of the Earth.” • *Marlow – entire life was sailor; a seaman and a wanderer • Not like other seamen. Seamen gave direct and simple stories. • Marlow did not.

8. Page 4 • Marlow begins talking (He will be talking and telling most of the story from now on). • Roman, great men • Greatness = flash of lightning • He ponders what the Romans thought when they once came to his land, away from home

9. Page 5 • Marlow stops talking and reflects • He says, “I guess you guys know that I once worked on a rivet boat.”Thus, he begins his story. • He has just returned to London from sailing in Asia • He got bored and wanted to go sailing again but couldn’t find a ship. • He liked maps a lot as a kid

10. Page 6 • As a kid he wandered about a blank spot on map (Africa). • But during the time of his story, map was updated and the area had now become a place of darkness and not mystery • Company HQ was on European Continent • Pestered relatives about a job • *His aunt hooked him up with a steamboat captain position in Africa since the old captain was killed • She believes in imperialism as charitable

11. Page 6 - Fresleven • Old Danish captain • Got in fight over 2 black hens • He thought he got jipped by the chief of a village so he beat the chief with a stick • Said to be nicest and quietest guy ever • Chief’s son killed Fresleven • Villagers and Fresleven’s crew both ran away • No one touched Fresleven’s body until Marlow got there to move it.

12. Page 7 • Marlow goes to the Company office (Brussels) • Biggest building in town • Company said they were going to have an empire and make lots of money • *At the office, he saw 2 women: 1 fat, 1 not • Knitting black wool; wore plain dresses • Not fat one took Marlow to waiting room • Secretary called him in to boss’s office • Shook hands and Marlow was ready to go

13. Page 8 • Signed documents with secretary • *Marlow scrutinized the women guarding the door of Darkness again • Skinny one led people to their places • Fat one had flat cloth slippers and cat on lap • Never stood up and was mysterious • Secretary said a doctor needs to check himas a formality • *A clerk comes and takes him away • Clerk was messy; ink stains • While waiting for doctor, the two got a drink

14. Page 9 • *Doctor examined Marlow, and asked to measure his head. • Was an unshaven little man with old coat • Feet in slippers • Interested in comparing before and after skull sizes • Marlow went to aunt to say bye • Drank tea • Aunt had told Company that he was a “saint”

15. Page 10 • Aunt says a worker is always worthy of his pay • Marlow criticized her in his thoughts • Women are naïve • Marlow felt like he was about to go to the center of Earth, rather than center of continent

16. Page 11 • Left England in a French steam ship • Marlow observed his surrounding while on this journey • He saw a French warship firing point blank into a jungle at natives • Stopped at many ports • Took forever

17. Page 12 • Reached the coast of Africa; his job on riverboat was 200 miles upstream • Hitched a ride on little steamship • *The captain was a Swede; skinny and sad young man • The captain tells him of a guy he transported who ended up hanging himself because the heat or country was too much for him • Got to Company station • Slaves working

18. Page 13 • Marlow saw 6 black men walking single file • Balancing small baskets of dirt on heads • Only wore black rags around waists • Every rib and join was visible • All chained together • “as indifferent as death” • Behind them he saw another black man with a gun forced to guard brothers • Heartbroken and sloppy • Marlow was overwhelmed by this situation

19. Page 14 • The slaves were slowly dying • Shadows of disease and starvation • Brought against their will • Marlow gave biscuit to a young slave • Mysterious white cloth tied around slave’s neck. • Many dead bodies on the ground

20. Page 15 • Marlow got to the station office • *Met Company’s chief accountant • Well dressed, boots shined, hair slicked down, holding an umbrella, pen behind ear • Took care of himself in an awful place • Kept his clothes clean by teaching a native woman how to clean them • Everything else was a mess; dusty • Stayed here for 10 days

21. Page 16 • *While there he talked with the chief accountant about Kurtz • Kurtz was Company’s greatest agent • In charge of Inner Station (he’s currently at the Outer Station) • Sends in as much ivory as all other agent combined • Left with a caravan of sixty men for a 200 mile walk

22. Page 17 • Footpaths everywhere during journey • Passed abandoned villages • Passed a couple dead bodies • A fat man was in the caravan with Marlow • Good guy, but fat • Kept fainting and so Marlow held coat over his head as they walked • Got a fever and had to be carried. Carriers complained that he was too fat • After 15 days, they got to Central Station • Another fat man came up and told Marlow that his boat was sunk the manager was waiting for him

23. Page 18 • Marlow questioned the sinking of his boat • He started fishing his boat back out and rebuilding it – took a few months • *His first conversation with the manager was strange • Manager didn’t ask him to sit down • Average looking complexion, feature, manner, voice, size • Blue eyes • Mild-mannered

24. Page 18 – The Manager • Manager • Half-smiles • Didn’t do it consciously • Made ordinary statements mysterious • Obeyed but not feared/respected • Made everyone feel uneasy • Unorganized • Not smart of educated • Quiet

25. Page 19 • Manager said the upriver stations needed to be resupplied and that’s why he had attempted to use Marlow’s boat • He didn’t know how the stations were. • Rumors of Kurtz being sick • Manager said Kurtz was the best agent • Manager annoyed Marlow because he still did not ask him to sit nor offer him a meal

26. Page 20 • Marlow started working on ship • All he heard white men talk about was ivory • One day a shed caught on fire • A black slave was blamed and beat • The slave ran away into the jungle • Marlow heard the brickmaker and manager talking about taking advantage of Kurtz situation but stopped after Marlow approached them.

27. Page 20 – The Brickmaker • *Talked to Marlow after manager’s leave • Went to his house • He had a candle, something only the manager had • Thought of as the manger’s spy • Said he was waiting for materials to make bricks • Had been waiting for a year • Marlow concluded that the real reason these white men chilled at the station was because they were waiting and hoping to be assigned to an ivory rich post

28. Page 21 • Marlow wasn’t sure why brickmaker was so friendly • Realized that he was being pumped for information • But he didn’t know what information…

29. Page 22 • Marlow saw a painting of a blindfolded woman carrying a torch in the brickmaker’s house • Kurtz had painted it • Marlow asks brickmaker to tell him about Kurtz • Brickmaker said that he thinks Kurtz will soon take the Manager’s position • He thinks Marlow is a big guy in the Company • Marlow follows along and allows the brickmaster to kiss his butt

30. Page 23 • Brickmaker was afraid of losing his job as assistant to manager when Kurtz took over • Marlow says he felt bad for lying to the brickmakerabout his influence in Europe • Lying made him feel sick • Thought he was helping Kurtz by lying, however

31. Page 24 • *Narrator says all this time Marlow was still talking on the boat Nellie • He said the other sailors might have been asleep, but he trying to understand the uneasy feeling he got from listening to the story • Marlow called Kurtz a “universal genius” • Marlow says he needs rivets to fix his ship that is now brought ashore

32. Page 25 • Brickmakertold Marlow that he’s not afraid of God, the devil, or anyone. • Marlow talks about how much he has grown to love his broken boat

33. Page 26 • *Marlow asked the mechanics to help him • The head mechanic was a boilermaker (beer cocktail) • Good worker; lanky and bony with yellow face; big eyes • Baldwith a beard that hung to waist • Wife was dead and he had 6 children back home • Loved pigeon-flying • Marlow told the head mechanic that they’re going to get rivets for the boat in 3 weeks

34. Page 27 • Rivets never came; instead the Eldorado Exploring Expedition arrived. • Pirates; treasure hunters • *Leader was Manager’s uncle • Looked like a poor butcher • Shifty eyes, pot belly, short legs • Only talked with his nephew • Marlow gave up his hope for the arrival of rivets

35. Setting of Chapter

36. Setting • “THE NELLIE, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest.” (1) • “The sea-reach of the Thames stretched before us like the beginning of an interminable waterway.” (1) • “I had then, as you remembered, just returned to London after a lot of Indian Ocean, Pacific, China Seas- a regular does of the East- six years or so….” (5) • Trading post (16) • Company where Marlow claims to have a job the Belgian “Company” that trades on the Congo River (27)

37. Important Characters

38. Marlow – Chapter 1 • The only developed character • Skeptical of Imperialism • Cynical • Middle point between Kurtz and Company • He isn’t unorthodox like Kurtz • He isn’t money hungry like the Company • Intelligent, philosopher, inquirer

39. Kurtz – Chapter 1 • Not very developed in Chapter 1 • Only mentioned by other people • A “universal genius” • Painter, musician, sailor, etc. • Very good at what he does • Chief of the Inner station • Envied by the manager • Kurtz may replace him as manager

40. Key Passages and their thematic ideas

41. Impressionism: Marlow as the Sea - This passage shows Marlow's inability to comprehend the differences in human life an instead shows his ignorance of the foreign. "In the imutability of the foreign shores, the forein faces, the changing immensity of life , glide past veiled not by a sense of mystery but by a slighty disdainful ignorance," (Conrad 3).

42. Imperialism / Racial Superiority - In this passage it supports the idea that Europeans use brute force to conquer the world which shows evidence of European Imperialism. In addition, the racial inferiority of human beings or "creatures" is expressed through a concise explanation that the white men often conquer the world from those who do not have similar looks nor similar intelligence. "The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much," (Conrad 4).

43. Imperialism - Thematic concepts of natural selection and superiority were personified as nature, herself, wards off the invasive species and weeds out intruders. "All along the formless coast bordered by dangerous surf, as if Nature herself had tried to ward off intruders; in and out of rivers, streams of death in life," (Conrad 11).

44. Racism/Superiority -The cultural differences and contrast as seen through the job positions and attire of the black men as opposed to the white men create an aura of superiority and racial undertones throughout the passage. "Six black men... balancing small baskets full of earth on their heads... Black rags were wound around their loins," (Conrad 12). "They passed me... with that death like indifference of unhappy savages.White men... speedily reassured, and with a large, white, rascally grin... seemed to take me into partnership in his exalted trust," (Conrad 13).

45. Imperialism/ Sexism/ Avarice (Economic Greed) - Treating the natives with hostility and exploiting them became justified to the ivory company in that the return on the trades and the wealth they accrued required them to dehumanize the native population. In addition, utilizing the women to suit the needs of the male population by forcing them to do traditional "women's work" creatdes a sexist atmosphere. "Strings of dusty niggers arrived and departed... and in return came a precious tickle of ivory," (Conrad 15). "I've been teaching one of the native women... she had a distaste for the work," (Conrad 15).

46. Condemnation of Existentialism - The absurdity in suggesting that there is no meaning to life arises during the condemnation of existentialism. The idea that the room is pitch black (symbolic of no meaning) and that Marlow was awake shows that Marlow can see through the dark to the light that will eventually penetrate the darkness. "It had become so pitch dark that we listeners could hardly see one another... I was awake... I listened on the watch for the sentence, for the word, that would give me the clue to the faint uneasiness inspired by this narrative that seemed to shape itself without human lifps in the heavy night air of the river," (Conrad 24).

47. Existentialism and Personification -Steamboats give Marlow a chance to find himself. The steamboat presents itself as a livelihood and a lifestyle. The steamboat is Marlow's ultimate reality, thus suggesting that it is his meaning to life as an existentialist. "She (the steamboat) had given me a chance to come out a bit- to find out what I could do... I don't like work- no man does- but I like what is in the work, the chance to find yourself. Your own reality- for yourself, not for others- what no other man can ever know. They can only see the mere show and never can tell what it really means," (Conrad 25).

48. Key Quotes

49. "Ever any madness in your family?" (Conrad 9). -An evident thematic idea throughout Heart of Darkness is the concept of madness. Instead of assuming that Marlow dvelops madness of becomes mad in his journey, perhaps Marlow was always mad. -This quote serves as foreshadowing as well. Though Marlow originally believes this question to be completely ridiculous or absurd, Marlow concedes to the fact that he is in fact faced with madness.

50. " The idleness of a passenger, my isolation amongst all these menwith whom I had no point of contact, the oily and languid sea, the uniform somberness of the coast seemed to keep me away from the truth of thing, within the toil of a mournful and senseless delusion," (Conrad 11). -Previously foreshadowed by the medical doctor and his examination, this quote serves to support the idea that Marlow experienced signs of madness before his journey. Therefore everything Marlow saw and experienced after Part I did not cause him to go mad, but instead revive the dormancy of his latent madness.