Heart of Darkness

1. Heart of Darkness Excerpt 20-29

2. What happened? • Outer station – First meeting of slaves • Introduction of death – relates to darkness • Company Accountant • Rumors of Mr. Kurtz • Arrive at central station – The steamboat has sunk • Marlow is suspicious

3. Main Themes Explored • Imperialism and Colonialism • Race • Power • Death • White dominance

4. Race • “The man seemed young, almost a boy, but you know with them you can never really tell. I found nothing else to do but to offer him one of my good Swede’s Ship biscuits I had in my pocket” – Marlow • “I met a white man… The first moment I took him for a sort of vision. I saw a high starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket, snowy trousers, a clear silk necktie and varnished boots”.

5. Death • “they were dying slowly – it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now – nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom.” Strong imagery, metaphoric language – “black shadows of disease and starvation” – shows how the slaves are no longer human and are helpless – “they were nothing earthly now”.


6. Power    
•       “afterwards he arose and went out – and the wilderness without a sound took him into his bosom” the wilderness is personified and because he is a black man, the nature takes him back, possibly to his death.
•       “the earth had opened to let an avenging fire consume all that trash” – here the fire is personified, and the nature seems like its own force that wants to rid the white people.

7. White Dominance “In the great demoralization of the land, he kept up his appearance.” This quote shows the man doesn’t care one bit about how the land is suffering and severely dying out, and it seems as though his appearance is more important.  “strings of dusty niggers with splay feet arrived and departed; a stream of manufactured goods, rubbishy cottons, beads and brass wire set off into the depths of darkness, and in return came a precious trickle of ivory.” In this quote the ‘precious’ ivory is contrasted with the ‘strings of dusty niggers’. It shows how the ivory is valued much more than the people, and how almost anything will be given up for ivory.    

8. Another quote that’s valuable • 

•       When Marlow learns his steamer has sunk, he says “I did not see the real significance of that wreck at once. I fancy I see it now.” This quote foreshadows the plot involving the Manager of the Central Station in arranging for the wreck to occur in order to delay the relief of the Inner Station until Kurtz becomes mortally ill.


9. Song • Slaves opened the door to akon • Lived in senegal as a child • Paying respects