Heart Of Darkness

8 Pages 2068 Words

CHARACTERS

Charlie Marlow

Marlow as principal narrator, the teller of the story-within-a-story. He's like the Ancient Mariner of Coleridge's poem; he grips you with his storytelling skills. However, unlike the Mariner, he doesn't have a specific lesson to teach; his moral position is more ambiguous. He is thus "contaminated" by his experiences and memories, and, like Coleridge's Ancient Mariner, destined, to serve penance, by repeating his story to all whom will listen.
Marlow serves as Conrad’s stand-in; we see in the first half that the novel is heavily autobiographical. Marlow is always observing and judging, but his politeness always seems to cover up the harshness of his judgments. The brickmaker and manger speak frankly to him because this mask of courtesy hides his contempt for them.
We don’t learn very much of Marlow before the Congo voyage except that he is an experienced sailor who has seen the world. We do know that he is a man of modesty and courage. EXAMPLES: attack on the steamer; Kurtz’s escape...We see the modesty come out EXAMPLE: he never emphasizes his heroism of his daring nature and also he gets embarrassed at his aunt’s praises. We do know that Marlow is devoted to his work. His fondness for work is at the base of his system of values. He admits that no one likes to work but it is what keeps you sane, just as it keeps him sane in the jungle. I took this as work provides a structure for life and if you concentrate on the duties of work then you won’t succumb to the call of madness or the “darkness” of the unknown that surrounds us. Marlow is the moral grounding point of the novel. He is the only white man in the Congo who recognizes the evils of colonialism in Africa. Marlow is the everyman (for lack of better terms) of the novel.
He learns that he has to face his own heart of darkness ..the call of the primitive in his own nature. Later we see how he confuses the beat of t...