Page 388 - DENG404_FICTION

Fiction

Notes Their office appears to him like a white sepulcher; the reception area is dimly lit. Two women
sullenly man the area. Marlow notes an unfinished map, and he sees that he is going into the
yellow section, the central area that holds the river. He signs but feels very uneasy as the
women look at him meaningfully. Then there is a visit to the doctor. Marlow questions why
he is not with the Company on its business. The doctor becomes cool and says he is no fool.
Changes take place out there. He asks his patient whether there is madness in the family. With
a clean bill of health and a long goodbye chat with his aunt, Marlow sets out on a French
steamer, feeling like an “impostor.”
Watching the coast as it slips by, the new skipper marvels at its enigmatic quality—it tempts
and invites the seer to come ashore, but in a grim way. The weather is fierce, for the sun beats
down strongly. The ship picks up others along the way, mainly soldiers and clerks. The trade
names they pass on ships and on land seem almost farcical. There is a uniformly somber
atmosphere. After a month, Marlow arrives at the mouth of the big river and takes his passage
on a little steamer. Once aboard he learns that a man picked up the other day hanged himself
recently.

He is taken to his Company’s station. He walks through pieces of “decaying machinery” and
observes a stream of black people walking slowly, very thin and indifferent. One of the “reclaimed”
carries a rifle at “its middle.” Marlow walks around to avoid this chain gang and finds a shade
to rest. He sees more black people working, some who look like they are dying. One young
man looks particularly hungry, and Marlow offers him the ship biscuit in his pocket. He
notices that the boy is wearing white worsted around his neck, and he wonders what this is
for. Marlow hastily makes his way towards the station. He meets a white man dressed elegantly
and in perfect fashion. He is “amazing” and a “miracle.” After learning that he is the Chief
Accountant of the Company, Marlow respects him. The station is a muddle of activity.
The new skipper waits there for ten days, living in a hut. Frequently he visits the accountant,
who tells him that he will meet Mr. Kurtz, a remarkable man in charge of the trading post in
the ivory country. The Accountant is irritated that a bed station for a dying man has been set
up in his office. He remarks that he begins to “hate the savages to death.” He asks Marlow
to tell Kurtz that everything is satisfactory.
The next day Marlow begins a 200 mile tramp into the interior. He crosses many paths, many
deserted dwellings, and mysterious black men. His white companion becomes ill on the journey,
which makes Marlow impatient but attentive. Finally they arrive at the Central Station, and
Marlow must see the General Manager. The meeting is strange. The Manager has a stealthy
smile. He is obeyed, but he does not inspire love or fear. He only inspires uneasiness. The
trading had begun without Marlow, who was late. There were rumors that an important
station was in jeopardy and that its chief, Kurtz, was ill. A shipwreck on Marlow’s boat has
set them back.
The manager is anxious and says it will be three months before they can make a full start in
the trading. Marlow begins work in the station. Whispers of “ivory” punctuate the air throughout
the days. One evening a shed almost burns down. A black man is beaten for this, and Marlow
overhears: “Kurtz take advantage of this incident.” The manager’s main spy, a first-class
agent, befriends the new skipper and begins to question him extensively about Europe and the
people he knows there.

Notes Marlow is confused about what this man hopes to learn. The agent becomes “furiously
annoyed.”

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