Heart Of Darkness Chapter 1

(Chapter 1) Going towards the Heart of Darkness a five-man crew—The Director, The Accountant, The Lawyer, the 1st narrator, and Charlie Marlow, travel on a sailboat named the Nellie through the Thames River, in London, England. Marlow thought about when the Romans traveled on the same river years ago when they were going to conquer Britain, that was the last time light was present and everything became dark. Marlow begins reminiscing about his past; as a little boy, Marlow had a fascination for maps, he would choose places he wanted to travel that caught his interest. The Congo River was one place he was most interested in, but became the darkest experience he faced. He was given the opportunity, with the help of his aunt to go to Africa.
Around this time Europeans began to form an imperialistic transformation on other countries, and light was nowhere to be found. There was an available position that Marlow received, because of the unfortunate accident of the former commander, Fresleven—he was beaten by an African man with a stick, after Fresleven struck him. Before leaving, Marlow had to go to Brussels where the Company’s Office was located, for a doctor’s appointment. When he arrived his intuition grew uneasy more and more. He saw the city as a dead place, and saw a negative energy in the people. He noticed a map with different color spots, the main color was red—it was a good sign of progress, and the way the Romans killed the British during their time of imperialism. Then he saw an old lady and young lady knitting black wool greeting the men in and out, it was like looking in the faces of life and death. As he was getting his checkup, the doctor made the feeling worse by expressing how much danger, only someone who is mad on the inside with be brought out and never restored if he was to leave and come back changed. Marlow stayed calm, but didn’t take the doctor’s words lightly. Before he left for his trip, he visited his aunt while mentally preparing himself for the unknown experience. Marlow traveled on a steamer along with other Europeans from different countries for thirty days, then they arrived at the Outer Station, he saw the foreign features of the African natives and thought of them less than enemies ;however as criminals. He noticed something more; they were nothing more than beings of hunger and sickness.
They were dying slowly, and to one man he had more of a consummate demeanor rather than sympathetic for the dead, Marlow meets the Company’s Chief Accountant, then the accountant informs Marlow of a lost man named Kurtz. Kurtz was known to collect abundance on ivory, and was also ill according to the Manager. After hearing so many rumors about Kurtz Marlow’s fascination for him grew. He was ready for the adventure, but he couldn’t do so without the rivets—he (Chapter 2) Marlow’s ship began traveling down into the Heart of Darkness heading to the Central Station. During the night he hears the manager and the manager’s nephew besmirching Kurtz; they couldn’t believe the wealth he was gaining and thought he was stealing ivory and wished death on him by the inhabitant weather. As the sky and air became thick, Marlow wondered about the cannibal Africans They seems so savaging, and it made Marlow very frightful, he thought eventually they would attack all the Europeans. The steamer stopped at a post hours from the next station, the crew got off and looked around for anything suspicious. They found a stack of wood with “Wood for you. Hurry up.” Carved inside it which made the delighted to
see. Marlow found a hut, and inside he found a book ‘An Inquiry into some Points of Seamanship’ by Towson Tower, he wondered who it belonged to as scrutinized the book with admiration. The men were ready to take off again, when they got the sense that Kurtz was near. All of sudden men began to fall, arrows were flying from the trees; the natives from the next station had attacked. They were trying to keep the crew away from Kurtz. After the surprising attack a Russian harlequin approached Marlow. He had the visage of a clown with a naïve attitude towards Kurtz. He told Marlow how he was close to Kurtz and admired him. The Russian man took many risks for Kurtz and became heartbroken by his near death-experience. Kurtz was ill, and it affected his relationship with the harlequin, because Kurtz tried to kill him. (Chapter 3) Trying to get Out of the Heart of Darkness had to be one of the toughest challenges. They found Kurtz, and from the looks of it, it was his time. Marlow became astonished of the man he once had interest in. He saw Kurtz’ body taken by the zeitgeist of Africa that he couldn’t escape from. It took over him and made him into a monster, he became overly possessive from the power he had conceived. Outside his hut was heads of rebels who went against him, which reminded him of the mad man he was. A man like Kurtz is bound to have a short life, anyone whom is in his life should prepare for the lost. His beautiful saw him for the last time to tell his beloved good-bye before he leaves. When he realized the time was ending he asked for rescue, the horror had infected him and it was too late for a cure. His last words “The horror, the horror” was a hard message for Marlow to take in. When Marlow returned to Brussels he visited Kurtz ‘ghostly Intended, for months she mourned over him, and requested for his last words. Marlow couldn’t put another heartache on her because of the fact Kurtz went to the Congo to find ivory to marry his fiancé. Her family didn’t accept him because he wasn’t a rich man, but the greed had exhausted him. Instead Marlow lied; he told her his last words were her name to ease the horror. Marlow did change as the doctor suspected, but he changed with a better perception. He saw Europe more than a sepulcher—it is body of evil. After flashing back into the dreadful time Marlow faced, the crew continued doing the normal without a care of what was said.