INFORMATION FOR THE ACADEMIC DECATHLON TEAM 2011, STARTING AT THE TOP OF PAGE 39

I. Review of previous discussions

II. New annotations, starting at the top of Page 39

1. 264. Page 39: The manager quotes Kurtz.
2. 265. Page 39: The manager and his uncle are very close to Marlow in the boat.
3. 266. Page 39: The uncle asks about the managers health. The answer is like a "charm."
4. 267. Page 39: The manager states all the pilgrims are sick.
5. 268. Page 39: The uncle gestures to the jungle. Why does Marlow describe this as a "dishonoring flourish?"
6. 269. Page 39: Marlow describes the uncle's arm as a flipper. How does this contribute to the picture Marlow is giving us of the man?
7. 270. Page 39: Why does Marlow react so very strongly to the uncle's words and gesture?
8. 271. Page 39: What is the "fantastic invasion" the jungle for whose end the jungle is waiting?
9. 272. Page 39, Paragraph 2: Explain Marlow's description of the departure of the manager and the uncle.
10. 273. Page 40, Paragraph 1: Note the analogy on the return of the Eldorado Expedition into the jungle. Why is it appropriate?
11. 274. Page 40: Note the sarcasm on the death of the donkeys.
12. 275. Page 40: "When I say very soon I mean it comparatively. It was just two months from the day we left the creek when we came to the bank below Kurtz's station." Is this prolepsis?
13. 276. Page 40, Paragraph 2: The journey up-river begins.
14. 277. Page 40: Note the imagery in the description of the journey.
15. 278. Page 40: How can the pronoun switches among "I," "you," and "one" be justified?
16. 279. Page 40: Note the continued imagery and personification in the description of the journey.
17. 280. Page 40: Why is the stillness vengeful?
18. 281. Page 40: Note the difficulties of river navigation.
19. 282. Page 41, paragraph continuing from Page 40: "The inner truth is hidden--luckily,luckily." Marlow states reality fades. Why does reality fade? Why is good for Marlow that it does?
20. 283. Page 41: "I felt often its mysterious stillness watching me at my monkey tricks, just as it watches you fellows performing on your respective tight-ropes--for what is it?-- half a crown a tumble--" (text as punctuated in my British edition) Of what is Marlow accusing his listeners?
21. 284. Page 41: A crown is a formerly used British silver coin having a value of five shillings.
22. 285. Page 41: Marlow's comment elicits a growled response. Was it considered an insult?
23. 286. Page 41: "I beg your pardon. I forgot the heartache that makes up the rest of the price. And indeed what does the price matter, if the trick be well done? You do your tricks very well. And I didn't do badly either, since I managed not to sink that steamboat on my first trip." What is the price the listeners pay for their tricks? Is the comparison of the listeners' tricks to Marlow's successful navigation of the Congo River a valid one? If so, how? If not, why not?
24. 287. Page 41: Marlow's fears at the time and his present day flashbacks of sinking the boat continue to bother him.
25. 288. Page 41: At times the boat had become stuck on the bottom or sand bars. The cannibals helped to float the boat again.
26. 289. Page 41: Marlow was grateful that the cannibals did not eat each other before his face.
27. 290. Page 41: The cannibals brought hippo meat as their food. It became rotten.
28. 291. Page 41: The steamboat came to a number of small stations on the way.
29. 292. Page 41: The employees at the stations had the appearance of being held captive by a spell.
30. 293. Page 41: The word "ivory" would hang in the air upon the arrival of the steamboat. Does this reinforce ivory as the god of this enterprise?
31. 294. Page 42, continuing paragraph from page 41: The steamboat is a stern-wheeler as opposed to a side-wheeler. This means the paddle wheel is at the rear of the boat.
32. 295. Pare 42: Note the words "crept," "beetle," and "crawled" creating the insect extended insect metaphor, comparing the boat to a crawling insect.
33. 296. Page 42: A "portico" is a covered walkway or porch.
34. 296. Page 42: "The reaches opened before us and closed behind us, as if the forest had stepped leisurely across the water to bar the way for our return." The extended metaphor personifying the jungle continues.
35. 297. Page 42: "We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness." Here we have the "title sentence" of the novella.
36. 298. Page 42: Nightly roll of drums in the jungle could mean war, peace, or prayer.
37. 299. Page 42: Marlow sees his trip as a visit to a prehistoric earth or unknown planet. The boat comes to a village with the natives yelling and moving around. The natives reaction to the boat is incomprehensible to him. He does not know if the natives are praying or welcoming the boat.
38. 300:"We were cut off from the comprehension of our surroundings; we glided past like phantoms, wondering and secretly appalled, as sane men would be before and enthusiastic outbreak in a madhouse." There is more here than meets the eye: "enthusiastic" means possessed by the spirit of a god.


DE NIHILO NIHILUM, IN NIHILUM NIL POSSE REVERTI!