The Journey Up the River (pgs. 30-34). How does Marlow describe the river? Why does this cause him to insult his companions on the boat in the Thames and thus to create another break in the narrative? How does Marlow go on to describe the journey as "we penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness" (31)? What does Marlow think of his crew (31-32)? Who are they? What does he think of the fireman (33)? Your post needs to be at least 100 words, and you need to read and respond to at least 2 of your classmates.
29 Comments
Laura Peck
10/19/2014 04:55:44 am
Marlow seems to have an affinity for water, which, is noticeable in the entire work. Words like “hugging” and “free” help us notice this. The break in the narrative (“Try to be civil, Marlow,” pg. 30) not only reminds us that this is a story being told, but it makes us realize that the words and tone Marlow is using could be somewhat offensive or poking and prodding at emotions. Marlow makes the journey sound somewhat supernatural, “The earth seemed unearthly.” (32) and “We could have fancied ourselves the first of men taking possession of an accursed inheritance,” (32). Marlow seems to think the crew is somewhat odd and that he has a significance above them. He seems cocky. It is said that the crew are “cannibals”. Marlow calls the fireman a savage. So obviously he doesn’t like him very much.
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Stephanie Farney
10/19/2014 07:29:56 am
I wouldn't describe Marlow's relationship with water as an affinity, but rather a dangerous curiosity. The way he used "hugging" in the section did not have an affectionate connotation, in my opinion. When reading that section, hugging sounded more like clinging, which is something one would do if they were in fear.
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Hannah Marshall
10/19/2014 10:11:04 am
I think that his association with water is a dangerous one. The words that Conrad uses makes it feel that he is trying not to be engulfed by the water. He his fearful of the water and is clinging instead of hugging like Stephanie said.
Mallory Harger
10/19/2014 01:39:25 pm
I think this is another one of Conrad's ways of twisting words. In every day life, hugging would be a positive thing. But here, I agree with Stephanie and Hannah that it is more dangerous and negative.
Riley Burghart
10/19/2014 06:37:22 am
Marlow seems to have a weird curiosity for the water. He tends to give it devilish qualities. He gives the water snakelike qualities, he even mentioned it's actions as "sinful." The break in the novel serves two primary purposes. The first being that this was an intentional break to remind the reader who is actually the narrator, and two, to imply that Marlow thinks highly of himself in regards to his shipmates. The journey seems to instill a bit of fear into the passengers, as they travel into a partially unknown land. Marlow recalls feeling insignificant/smaller as the surroundings begin to enclose themselves on the river. The fireman is considered a "savage" so this could either mean he is thought of as a unruly man or he is a powerful beast.
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Stephanie Farney
10/19/2014 07:33:57 am
That's a good way to look at it. I didn't associate the snaking of the river with the snake/devil in the story of Adam and Eve. But now that you mention it, I completely agree. I also think the winding of the river contributed to the fear associated with the journey because you never knew was was going to be around each bend. That may have also caused a bit of paranoia in the passengers.
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Madison Hoffman
10/19/2014 09:46:53 am
I agree with your statement about Marlow thinking highly of himself compared to other men. I think, however, that Marlow was impressed by the fireman. Even though he was referred to as a savage, Marlow stated, "He was useful because he had been instructed," which could be seen as a compliment coming from Marlow.
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Laura Peck
10/19/2014 02:19:31 pm
I like that you say he has a curiosity. He seems to think the water has some sort of power....and it seems as if it tempts him. I recall him comparing it to a snake at some point, which draws us back to Genesis in the Bible.
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Stephanie Farney
10/19/2014 07:02:54 am
Marlow seems to describe the river as mysterious in this entire section. To him, traveling on the river "was like traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world", which implies that very little was known about his surroundings, thus making them seem mysterious. The river also hid dangers under the water, which also made it deceiving and dangerous, since skimming the bottom of the boat was seen as "the unpardonable sin". The stress of being in that situation was what I think caused him to insult his companions. He goes on to then describe the journey as primitive, saying that it was as if they were wandering "on a prehistoric earth". He describes those around him as "savages" and "cannibals", thus implying that they are inferior to him. He also says this about the fireman, and the way in which he is described is almost a mockery.
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Madison Hoffman
10/19/2014 09:49:27 am
I agree with your comment about Marlow insulting his companions because of the stress he was under. Marlow had a lot of pressure on him to steer the boat and thought his job was more difficult than the jobs of the other men.
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Madison Hoffman
10/19/2014 09:42:39 am
Marlow describes the river as being eerily quiet and peaceful with many obstacles to navigate around. Marlow was sort of disconnected from reality because he was in an unusual place and had lots of pressure to steer the boat. He probably viewed his job as more important than the jobs of the other men which caused him to insult them. Marlow described their journey by stating how the river seemed to be closing them in. All of the men were on edge because of the environment they were in. They would jump at the sound of a twig snapping. Marlow doesn't think highly of his crew but he does think they have some qualities of compassion and bravery. Marlow thinks the fireman is actually well instructed and is impressed by him.
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Hannah Marshall
10/19/2014 10:13:51 am
I agree that Marlow was under a lot of stress and he felt that his job was more important than the rest of the men. I think that his mental state now will show how he reacts to when they are off the boat and interact with the land.
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Hannah Marshall
10/19/2014 10:08:26 am
Marlow feels like this trip is like going back to when the land was first discovered and describes the river as harmful and evil. He feels that this is a trip going no where positive. Marlow is feeling a lot of pressure because he has to steer the boat and because he is restless he starts to insult them. All the men were on edge and would jump at the sound of a twig snapping. He describes on penetrating deeper regarding that they are going through old conspiracies, mysteries, and unknown prehistoric territory.
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Josie
10/19/2014 01:29:28 pm
Do you think he was acting like solely under stress or is that just how he is?
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Mallory Harger
10/19/2014 01:36:09 pm
I like that you mentioned the enormous amounts of pressure and stress Marlow would have been under. As seniors, I think we can all relate to him in that aspect. We have all been in charge of something and said things we didn't mean under pressure.
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Alexis Young
10/20/2014 08:48:58 am
I think that this extreme amount of pressure he probably feels makes him think he's better than the rest of the crew members, which is why he feels superior to them. Steering the boat seems to be a rather important job and I bet any man would get cocky with it.
Amanda Wilde
10/19/2014 12:10:31 pm
Marlow describes the water with all dark qualities. There is never a time when he uses positive words in describing the river. Marlow sort of downplays his crew and they become sort of insignificant in the story.As Marlow goes deeper into the description of the journey, and deeper into the "heart of darkness" it gets darker and darker. The mysteries become more relevant and frequent. Marlow also does not think highly of the fireman by the way he describes him.
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Josie
10/19/2014 01:25:35 pm
Mentioning the negative adjectives used to describe the river is a really solid argument
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Laura Peck
10/19/2014 02:27:37 pm
I think some of the words Marlow uses to describe the river can be subjective to interpretation of the tone of a passage. For some reason I seem to think he has a view of the river that is a little more leaning to the positive side!
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Alexis Young
10/20/2014 08:50:53 am
I do agree with Josie and Amanda, but also Laura as well. We read earlier in the book that Marlow has a fascination with the river, that he's always wanted to be an adventurer and go on journeys and that the river "charmed" him. So yes, obviously the diction can be taken in a negative way, but there's also a positive side - Marlow seems to enjoy the river, even though it's extremely dangerous.
Sierra Gant
10/19/2014 02:56:14 pm
The way Marlow describes the water is definitely in a dark mysterious way. I agree he does seem to not show the significance of his crew. The whole crew is important to the running of a steamboat, yet Marlow makes it all about himself.
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Josie
10/19/2014 01:23:59 pm
His insults are directed towards his crew members because he thinks the stuff they are doing now is nothing compared to what he has seen. He thinks they're weak. He has seen the rough and dangerous terrain of the Congo. The Thames is nothing in comparison to that. There are breaks in the story to help solidify the change in Marlow's attitude. Marlow believes that even though the Congo is full of life, it is darkness. It carries a lot of death and danger with it. People usually say as we get deeper into the middle of things that we are going to the heart of it therefore heart of darkness.
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Dakota Cavanaugh
10/19/2014 02:45:38 pm
I really like the last sentence of your post. I didn't really think of this part of the book in that light. The titles of books always have something more to do with the story than just a name. And, I think that this is a very solid beginning to an argument about what the title could symbolize beyond just being a title. Very nice insight.
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Mallory Harger
10/19/2014 01:33:40 pm
Marlow seems to have somewhat of an obsessive nature. His love for the river is very noticeable in this section. But his love is different than the love that most of us would think of. Whenever Marlow describes the river, devilish and evil qualities are used. The dangerousness of the river seems to fascinate him. The break in the novel helps to remind us that Marlow isn’t really telling the story. The narrator is recounting the story, and I think that, without these simple reminders, we would forget about the narrator entirely. Marlow likes to insult his companions. He uses words like “savages” to describe them. That is, except for the fireman. Marlow actually likes him.
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Dakota Cavanaugh
10/19/2014 02:43:53 pm
I would have to disagree with the fact that Marlow likes the fireman. I think that Stephanie made a very good point by saying that Marlow talked about the fireman in somewhat of a mocking tone of voice. This would imply that Marlow does not like the fireman very much.
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Sierra Gant
10/19/2014 02:52:30 pm
I'd also have to disagree with the Marlow liking the fireman. Marlow thinks of himself as superior to the fireman and crew members by the way he describes them. "He was there below me..." and then he goes on to describe the fireman as a dog trying to act like a person.
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Dakota Cavanaugh
10/19/2014 02:41:09 pm
Marlow's description of the river is somewhat over the top. He seems to have an obsession with how dangerous the river is. He spends his time describing the river with nothing but negative adjectives, but he has a strange fascination with it. It is very interesting how something so evil could be the subject of Marlow's interest. This could be a beginning sign of insanity that Marlow is showing. His fascination seems very contradictory because he is in love with something so "evil". The break in the novela serves two main purposes. The first, is a reminder that we are listening to the story indirectly. Marlow is telling the narrator, who is then telling the reader. Secondly, the break allows us to see Marlow's actions towards his shipmates. He feels like he is above them because they haven't seen the things he has seen. The story outside of the story is built upon with these breaks. The way Marlow insults his companions is to show Marlow's superiority complex. He's been through it all, and nobody else's stories or experience can compare to Marlow's dangerous adventures in the Congo. Also, with the fireman, Marlow is also very blunt and calls him a savage in a way that makes the reader see a negative view of the fireman through Marlow's eyes.
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Sierra Gant
10/19/2014 02:47:15 pm
Marlow makes the river seem like it is infinitely flowing. He talks of it flowing into various places. He makes the river seem powerful and also like a character itself. The story is broken once in awhile to remind the reader that Marlow's story is being retold to us through the narrator. Marlow seem to think of himself as more superior than his shipmates. He relates them to circus animals preforming for money I think. He definitely describes the journey as eerie and mysterious. It seems not of this planet and like nothing he has ever seen. Marlow has a stereotype that his crew members are cannibals just because they are natives. Despite that, he does say they are fine fellows and were easy to work with. It says that Marlow thinks of the fireman as a savage. Marlow sees himself as more civil than the fireman. He compares the fireman to a clothed dog being trained.
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Alexis Young
10/20/2014 08:47:39 am
Marlow describes the river as more dark and mysterious, like saying there was "no joy" and you "lost your way on that river as you would in a desert." The sudden break in narrative seems to remind us that Marlow isn't, in fact, the actual narrator, and that by some part of the story he has insulted his shipmates somehow, by the words "growled a voice." Before Marlow says "we penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness" (pertaining to the jungle), he describes the setting as dark and melancholy, by using words like "silence" and comparing the steamboat to a sluggish beetle. When I think of bugs, I usually don't think of happy joyful things. Marlow seems to, clearly, think of himself as better than his shipmates, and this gives him an aura of cockiness and superiority. And, finally, Marlow compares the fireman to a savage, and states the fireman was "only useful because he was instructed," so it seems Marlow has a bit of hate towards this fireman for no particular reason that we know of.
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