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.