INFORMATION FOR THE ACADEMIC DECATHLON TEAM 2011, STARTING AT THE TOP OF PAGE 45

I. Review of previous discussions

II. Questions on the Collective Unconscious

III. New annotations

316. P. 45, continuing paragraph from Page 44: "Telegraphic style" indicates some sort of abbreviation. Charges on telegrams were based on the number of characters in the message.
317. P. 45: Twill is cloth woven with ribs.
318. P. 45: The things left in the hut indicate a white man had lived in it.
319. P. 45: Marlow discovers a book lacking covers and stitched together with cotton thread. The title of the book, An Inquiry into some Points of Seamanship (some is not capitalized in either of the texts I am using) was written by a Master of his Majesty's Navy.
320. P. 45: The text is filled with boring and repulsive charts. diagrams, and figures.
321. P. 45: The text reinforces British obsession with efficiency, but it is sixty years old.
322. P. 45: The text discusses various aspects of seamanship and uses the term "purchases" which refers to a fast hold applied to move something mechanically or to keep from slipping.
323. P. 45: Marlow sees the book as something unmistakeably real in the unreality of the situation. Stated differently: reality breaks into the jungle.
324. P. 45: The text of the book is annotated in what appears to be a "cipher" or code.
325. P. 45: Marlow describes the cipher as an "extravagant" mystery. Extravagant means to wander beyond (normal) bounds.
326. P. 46, continuing paragraph from Page 45: If this text is so very boring and repulsive, why does Marlow say, "I slipped the book into my pocket. I assure you to leave off reading was like tearing myself away from the shelter of an old solid friendship?"
327. P. 46, first new paragraph: The manager believes the wood, the message, and the book must have been left by the "intruder," the trader who together with Kurtz could be hanged. Marlow suggests the man is English.
328. P. 46: The manager says his being English will not keep him out of trouble. Marlow says, with assumed innocence, that no man is safe in that environment. Why does Marlow say this with "assumed" innocence?
329. P. 46: "... the stern-wheel flopped languidly.." languidly has several meanings: faintly, listlessly, without vigor or vitality, droopingly, weakly, without interest or spirit, indifferently, sluggishly, dully, or slowly. Which one or ones work best for this sentence?
330. P. 46: Marlow expects the engine to stop at any moment.
331. P. 46: "The manager displayed a beautiful resignation," Explain the juxtaposition of the two words; beautiful and resignation.
332.P. 46: Marlow ponders the futility of the situation and says "One gets sometimes a flash of insight. The essentials of this affair lay deep under the surface, beyond my power of meddling." What is Marlow really saying?
333. P. 46, Paragraph 3: It is only eight miles to Kurtz station and Marlow wishes to push on, but the manager, perhaps concerned about the warning note, decides that they should approach Kurtz' station only in daylight.
334. P. 46 The remaining journey will take about three hours and the distance is eight miles. What is the approximate speed of the steamboat?

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