Heart of Darkness Parts 2 and 3

Summary - Marlow overhears a conversation between the manager and the clerk complaining about Kurtz's methods of getting ivory. He hears that Kurtz is ill and isn't fully recovered. Marlow sets out on a trip on his newly repaired steamer to see Kurtz with the manager, clerk, and several pilgrims. The river and climate are sometimes difficult. They all occasionally hear the sounds of the natives on the riverbanks. During their journey, the steamer finds a hut with a stack of firewood and a note that says, "Wood for you. Hurry up. Approach cautiosly," with what seems to be a code on the side. The manager infers that it is from the troublesome Russian trader. The steamer stops close to Kurtz's location despite Marlow's will to avoid dangerous waters. However, the next morning, a heavy fog falls upon them, but they continue to travel anyway. A group of natives attacks their ship with arrows, killing one of the pilgrims. Marlow displeases lots of his hungry pilgrims by throwing the potential meal into the water. Marlow doubts that Kurtz is still alive, and this disappoints him. The men finally arrive at the Inner Station where they run into the Russian trader. The man seems to be brain washed by Kurtz with his constant praise and his never ending defense of Kurtz's honor, even though Kurtz threatened his life at times. Marlow discovers that he was the author of the code, which were only notes written in Russian. The pilgrims arrive with Kurtz's sick body on a stretcher. He is obviously extremely ill, but the natives still respect him with great honor. The manager criticizes Kurtz's methods, but Marlow defends him, making him an outcast to the men of his ship. That night, Marlow is woken up by the sound of drums and native songs. He goes to find the noise and discovers Kurtz is missing from his cabin. Marlow finds Kurtz, and Kurtz threatens him. Marlow convinces him to leave and helps him back to the ship. The steamer left the next day with Kurtz on board. While on his death bed, Kurtz fascinates Marlow with his philosophies on life, death, and success. He gives Marlow the remainder of his papers for safekeeping. Kurtz soon dies with his last words being "The horror! The horror!" Marlow becomes ill and almost dies too, but returns to Brussels after he recovers. Journalists beg, plead, and threaten Marlow for Kurtz's last papers, but he refuses to give them away until he finds one of Kurtz's colleagues that he trusts with them. To receive full closure of Kurtz's death, Marlow decides to go visit his Intended. She is still in deep mourning over a year after his death, and Marlow gives her the sympathetic ear that she needs. She begged to hear his lasts words. Marlow couldn't dare tell the poor woman the truth, so he tells her his last words were her name, only to find that nothing bad resulted from the lie.

Response - I have to say, I hated this book until about the last 10 pages. Yes, section 2 was more interesting than the first, but it felt like the story didn't even reach it's climax towards the end.

I was fascinated at how much of an effect Kurtz had on people. He obviously was an amazingly gifted leader because he seemed to brainwash the ones he was closest too, especially the Russian trader.

I loved how in the end Marlow hated ordinary people because of the experiences he had gone through because I can relate to that in a sense. I've walked down the hallways and wanted to curse at people for their ignorance before. It is frustrating to see people care about the most insignificant things, when you know that there are so many more important things in the reality. So when I read this, I couldn't help but laugh at how alike we are even though Marlow's circumstances were much more severe than my own.

The Intended was who really broke my heart. She was truly in love with Kurtz and she saw no flaw in him. Part of me wanted Marlow to tell her the truth about his last words, so she could get the proper closure she needed, no matter how long it would take her to come to terms with it. However, I completely understand why he lied. In a way, it didn't really hurt anything. In fact, it helped the hurting woman, even though she would heal based on lies.

Even though Heart of Darkness wasn't my favorite by any means, I can appreciate why it's such a literary classic. Though some of the descriptions were dense and seemingly pointless, others were so beautifully written that it made me think about things in an entirely new light.

Heart of Darkness Part 1

Summary - Four men are on a ship, The Nellie, sitting around and taking in the environment around them. They are all quiet and in a meditative state of mind until Marlow makes the observation that the Thames was a river where so many men have fought, died, and explored. He talks of his fascination of land and exploration even as a child. He reminisces about his experience as a younger man when he got a job as a fresh water sailor at a Belgian company with help from his aunt. He was taking the place of a captain who was killed in a fight with some African natives. Marlow goes through all the formalities with the Company and sets sail on a French steamer to Africa, which he feels like is the center of the earth. He sees lots of death and other inhumane circumstances along the way. When Marlow finally reaches Central Station, he realizes his boat has sunk, which may or may not be an accident. He hears many great think about the manager, Mr. Kurtz, but he is very suspicious about him. Marlow wants rivets to repair his ship, only to be disappointed by the Eldorado Exporing Expedition's arrival.

Response - I found this book very hard to get into in the beginning. It's density and descriptions just didn't grab my attention at first. However, there were some quotes that stuck out to me and were even facebook status worthy. Marlow's reflection of death and conquering land was beautiful to me. "They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force - nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others," practically jumped out at me. Just something about Marlow's reflections gave me an immediate appreciation for the book's excessive descriptions. Marlow recollections of the Africans broke my heart. It just made me hurt for them, since they were human beings. But I know back then, people didn't see things that way, and it's a shame. I would like to know the purpose of Marlow's life story and why it's significant, but I know I will find out soon enough. There are lots of subtleties in this book also that make me have to go back and read a certain passage again. It's challenging, but I appreciate the complexity and the beautifully written words.