Learning more about Marlow

The protagonist Marlow is beginning to view the world differently than he did when he first embarked on his journey. Marlow seems to be appalled by the inadequate conditions at the station and the lackadaisical attitudes of the workers. In fact, his work ethic seems to be unparalleled; Marlow is goal-oriented and just wants to get the job done. Although the protagonist has many duties, he doesn’t express much reluctance and likes to keep busy. Marlow’s responsibilities keep him distracted at times from the abysmal conditions and savage behavior of the natives. While Marlow is piloting the ship and making repairs, he is in a little bubble. The character merely feels like a witness to the atrocities and exploitation of the natives, not an accomplice. Although Marlow has convinced himself that he is not a part of the oppressive process, I think that his observations and encounters with the workers and “savages” have had a greater impact on him than he thinks.
Marlow has a very ambivalent attitude toward the natives. At one point, he commented on how the natives “…were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now- nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom.” Marlow even offered some natives a piece of biscuit after viewing their emaciated state. This compassionate act, though small, stood out in my mind. Marlow is not like the rest of the company’s workers; he is a hard worker and shows some empathy for the natives. But at the same time, Marlow views the natives as primitive and barbaric. I think this inner conflict makes Marlow a very complex character. Marlow states, “We were cut off from the comprehension of our surroundings; we glided past like phantoms, wondering and secretly appalled, as sane men would be before an enthusiastic outbreak in a madhouse.” While he is traveling, he is isolated from the rest of the world, existing in an altered state of mind. His encounters with the savages bewilder him because he is used to viewing the Africans as a “shackled form of a conquered monster.” But in this new setting, Marlow is able to see these people through distorted, but new eyes, as both monstrous and free. The intrigue and lurid fascination with the Africans sheds light on their humanity. The barrier between the “savages” and the explorers was temporarily torn down as thoughts of the Africans’ humanity and the “remote kinship” with the “wild and passionate uproar” surfaced. I think this theme of kinship between the Europeans and Africans will be revisited later on.
posted by Leslie P.