Imagery, Characterization, and Colonialism

Heart of Darkness begins with five men spending the day together on the Nellie. Of these five men, one is a lawyer, another an accountant, and the captain. What the person who is narrating the story does is unknown. These four men were listening to each other’s stories of their journeys, but mostly to those of Charlie Marlow. What caught my attention the most at the beginning of the book was the vivid imagery that allowed the reader to picture what was going on. The way that the author describes the setting helps the reader to understand how the characters are feeling. For example, he says, “The water shone pacifically; the sky, without a speck ,was a benign immensity of unstained light;…Only the gloom to the west, brooding over the upper reaches, became more somber every minute, as if angered by the approach of the sun…the sun sank low, and from glowing white changed to a dull red without rays and without heat, as if about to go out suddenly, stricken to death by the touch of that gloom brooding over”. This type of writing allows the reader to get more of a feel of what the characters are feeling, to visualize their surroundings. It makes the scene feel that much more real.
Something else that I noticed in the first part of Heart of Darkness was how the character of Charlie Marlow was developed. Marlow is an explorer, he felt a love for the sea and exploring ever since he was a child, and he does not look at exploration and conquest as most people think they do. Many explorers felt that they were doing the natives some kind of favor. That they were gracing them with their appearance to help civilize them as if they were some type of wild creatures. To emphasize that he does not feel that way Marlow says, “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. What redeems it is the idea only.” I liked how Marlow looked at things this way because it makes him a very realistic character, and not stereotypical. He sees things as they are. Exploration to him isn’t some type of great deed, he‘s not “’weaning those ignorant millions from their horrid ways‘”. It’s something that he loves to do, but it’s also a business transaction. Hopefully, the book will continue to draw me in.
Posted by Wendy C.