What is the setting of Heart of Darkness?
Setting (place) Opens on the Thames River outside London, where Marlow is telling the story that makes up Heart of Darkness. Events of the story take place in Brussels, at the Company’s offices, and in the Congo, then a Belgian territory.
Why is the setting important in Heart of Darkness?
Setting helps place the reader in the novel and adds to the themes. This book begins on the Thames in London, where Marlow is talking to his fellow shipmates. It’s on the river that the setting really reflects and adds to the overall themes of darkness and savagery in the novel.
What is Heart of Darkness Chapter 2 about?
By Joseph Conrad. One lazy day, Marlow is napping out on deck when he hears the manager and his uncle talking about something faintly interesting. Make that extremely interesting: Kurtz. The manager and his uncle are unhappy with Kurtz, because he’s too influential with Company heads and they think he’s stealing ivory.
Who does Marlow meet at the end of Chapter 1?
the manager
Maybe. While repairs are underway, Marlow meets the manager. The guy is creepy (a common theme around these parts), and he’s also a fairly mediocre manager with no discernable talents. Well, he has one talent: irritating Marlow with a constant stream of meaningless babble and a vacant smile.
Why are there two narrators in Heart of Darkness?
Because Heart of Darkness makes use of a frame narrative, there is a second narrator. This second narrator also speaks in the first person, and in his narrative, the reader sees Marlow from an outside perspective.
What setting is Heart of Darkness opened in?
Heart of Darkness opens on a group of sailors sitting on the deck of the Nellie, a small ship. Among them is Charles Marlow. The opening scene sets up Heart of Darkness as a frame story, with a sailor relaying the story that Marlow tells of his experiences in a flashback. His story goes like this.
What do you know about the symbolic significance of the setting of the heart of darkness?
The literal meaning of the phrase “heart of darkness” is the inmost region of the dry country known as Congo; but symbolically it means the inmost region of a man’s mind or soul. So the incursion into the heart of darkness also means a descent by Marlow into the depths of his own soul.
What does Marlow learn when he overhears the manager?
What does Marlow learn when he overhears the station manager talking to his uncle? Marlow learns that Kurtz is ill and that he is guarded with those he keeps around him; The manager is conspiring against Kurtz and is wishing death upon him.
What does the Eldorado Exploring Expedition represent to Marlow?
Marlow needs rivets to continue his journey but the rivets do not come for a while. An exploring party, the Eldorado Exploring Expedition, arrives. They represent the greedy, reckless and cruel young men whose sole purpose is to obtain money and wealth by destroying the land.
What does the first unnamed narrator and the frame story contribute to Heart of Darkness?
What do the first unnamed narrator and the frame-story contribute to Heart of Darkness? 2. The unnamed first-person narrator prepares the way for Marlow’s initial meditation “evok[ing] the great spirit of the past upon the lower reaches of the Thames” river (1368).
Is the narrator reliable in Heart of Darkness?
Like most first-person narrators, Marlow in Heart of Darkness is not reliable. He is spinning a sailor’s yarn, heightening and/or leaving out aspects of the story for dramatic effect.
What is the plot of the heart of Darkness?
Plot Overview. Heart of Darkness centers around Marlow, an introspective sailor, and his journey up the Congo River to meet Kurtz , reputed to be an idealistic man of great abilities.
What is the narrative mode of heart of Darkness?
The narrative form used in Heart of Darkness is the so-called frame narrative of enclosing the main story within an external story. This is common to Gothic works. Other good examples of the…
Who is the protagonist in heart of Darkness?
Marlow- Marlow is the protagonist of Heart of Darkness and his story is the center of the novella.
Should I read ‘the heart of Darkness?
Why you should read Heart of Darkness… 1. Conrad is considered one of the fathers of Modernism – find out why! 2. Conrad’s use of imagery is exquisite. 3. He is considered one of the best English novelists, yet didn’t learn to speak English until he was in his 20’s. 4. This work has inspired writers – from Graham Greene to