The Heart of Darkness is very different from Crime and Punishment and A Streetcar Named Desire. This story contains two narrators, one being an anonymous listener who speaks in the first person on behalf of the four passengers on the ship. Marlow is the other narrator. He tells his story in the first person giving his take on what he experienced, and what he observed. There is no dialogue between the characters, which sets this story apart from the other two stories we read.
The protagonist is Marlow. He is the captain of the ship who tells great tales, and has the ability to capture people’s minds with his glorious stories. He appears to be well traveled and has a lot of knowledge regarding what he has seen in his travels.
Heart of Darkness is most likely an autobiographical story, drawing comparisons to contrast between Marlow and Joseph Conrad. Conrad lived in the Congo, and was a marine in the British navy. Marlow was most likely created from personal experience.
Imperialism appears to be a main topic of discussion. Racial slurs for this time period are evident. Marlow’s superior white man’s attitude, and negative critiques of the natives are clearly evident. For example, he refers to the natives as savages, suggesting their faces are grotesque masks.
I don’t find myself connecting to any of these characters yet. Even Raskolnikov. I had mixed opinions on, however Marlow is not a character that I have warmed up to. It will be interesting to see Conrad’s use of literary style, as the book progresses. At this point, there is some difficulty relating his use of symbolism, and I hope to gain a better understanding of the characters.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Oh my god, you have the same thoughts as me!
ReplyDeleteGet out of my head!
I agree with the observations you have made about the story however I find myself being more intuned and in favor of Marlow over Raskolnikov. Marlow is a character I can respect and admire. He obviously has a passion for the sea and adventure and respects that as well. Raskolnikov was very dark, I feel that Marlow is pensive and just wise with age. The only thing I am excited about is seeing his development as a character thats it.
ReplyDeleteI think this book can refers to Joseph Conrad's journey to Congo. He was sailor also. I think a lot of detail and imagery are basically coming from his own experience.
ReplyDelete