The beginning of Marlow's story impresses upon the reader the disguised lie of the trading company with which he becomes associated. The position which he gains once belonged to a man by the name of Fresleven who died while he was "engaged in the noble cause"(p 72) of enlightening the savages. Marlow's aunt, who aids him in getting the job, sees Marlow as "Something like an emiss

An interesting point to note about the death of Fresleven, the white man who previously occupied Marlow's position in the company, are the circumstances surrounding his death. It is in the description of these circumstances that Marlow illustrates the two sides of man and the effects the atmosphere of the jungle have on those two sides, dark and light, respectively. The man "had been killed in a scuffle with the natives" over "two black hens."(p 72). Marlow continues on to say, "he went ashore and started to hammer the chief of the village with a stick. Oh, it didn't surprise [him] in the least to hear this, and at the same time to be told that Fresleven was the gentlest, quietest creature that ever walked on two legs."(p 72). It is strange to see that Marlow seems to justify the act by saying, "No doubt he was; but he had been a couple of years already out there engaged in the noble cause, you know, and he probably felt the need at last of asserting his self- respect in some way."(p 72), that is to say, that the jungle brought out a dark side of Fresleven that had not been acknowledged before his journey there. This example is one of many that show the two sides of man as a universal truth. Other examples include Kurtz' character, the chief of the Inner Station. Kurtz is revered by everyone Marlow encounters, the bricklayer and secretary of the Central Station explains to Marlow, " 'He is a prodigy,... He is an emissary of pity and science and progress, and devil knows what else."(p 92). The Russian at the Inner Station tells Marlow that " 'this man [Kurtz] has enlarged [his] mind'"(p 128). Yet later Marlow narrates, "His [Kurtz'] was an impenetrable darkness."(p 147), " I saw on that ivory face the expression of sombre pride, of ruthless power, of craven terror-of an intense and hopeless despair."(p 147), thus revealing to the reader the dark side of the great Kurtz. However, in his reflection on Kurtz' death, Marlow says:

in the world-what I want to forget. It makes me misera

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1355
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)