Marlow's contemplation during his journey through the Congo
In one of his novels, Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad depicts the tale of a man who reflects upon the meaning of life as well as all of its intricasies and implications. Indeed, Marlow, the main character of this story, questions several existential topics and explores his own personal curiosity about the solidarity and darkness of the jungle he finds himself in. At one point in the storyline, Marlow and his crew depart towards the station where the enigmatic Kurtz resides. An interesting aspect of this portion of the adventure is that Marlow's crew is mostly composed of cannibals. Upon realizing how famished these natives are, Marlow contemplates how incredible it seems that the cannibals have restrained themselves from giving in to their hunger and eating the European men onboard. It is this speculation that will be the topic of discussion in the following paper. Marlow's thoughts and percept
At several occasions during his adventure, Marlow seems to be both confused and amazed at the same time by the intricasies and differences that the magnificent, yet powerful jungle has to offer. This particular instance is no different. The enigma at hand simply cannot be comprehended by Marlow. And in a way, this only fuels his respect for the natives as well as the fascinating jungle of the Congo.
In retrospect, we have examined Marlow's speculation and analysis of the cannibals on his crew in order to fully understand the restaint that the savages imposed on themselves. As Marlow said : ''Restraint! I would just as soon have expected restraint from a hyena prowling amongst the corpses of a battlefield'' (38). Yet, human nature can be sometimes difficult to comprehend, as our narrator soon finds out after contemplating about this interesting situation. Undoubtedly, Marlow perceived some form of respect coming from the cannibals, and seemingly returned t
All papers and essays are for research and reference purposes only!
Copyright 2002-2009
Direct Essays , LLC. All Rights Reserved. DMCA Webmasters make $$$$