First off all I can say is that was the shortest book out of all three, but it took me the longest… ugh… I am so glad I am done with that book because it was just so confusing, hard to follow, and overall just not my cup of tea! I am always in for a good story but this just was one story that I couldn’t get into or make any connections too to keep me hooked into the story. Maybe that was just because I couldn’t follow it to the best of my liking… I do not know. I would start to understand and then Marlow would just start rambling and I would get lost again. This book was a challenge for me!
The thing that was the hardest to overcome was just his style. I just didn’t like it. My book came with a glossary… I felt like Conrad was just trying to use a lot of big words sometimes to make his writing sound more advanced, and then he would give it up, and then a little later in the book would pick it back up. I also didn’t like how there were so many symbols that had so many things that they could mean, it drove me crazy! I probably didn’t understand most of them, so that was frustrating. I think this just would have been a perfect book to read and discuss with someone, so I could get so sort of different perspective of it from someone else, maybe it would have made more sense.
When it came to characters I found Marlow kind of confusing. One minute he was curious about Kurtz and liked him and the next minute he hated him? I still don’t understand why he did favors for Kurtz when all he did was steal, be selfish, and be dishonest. I hated Kurtz as a character just because he was eerie and secretive… I always knew he wasn’t a good guy. It bothered me how he took advantage of people, and it was like he had no conscience… I guess that what the jungle does to you... Marlow seemed like he was generally a good guy, so I could understand why he saved Kurtz’s fiancé from sadness and pain since she thought so highly of him. But that’s the difference between Marlow and Kurtz; Marlow had feelings. He was upset when people died he didn’t just brush it off, he was angry with people when his boat was broken etc. That was the difference between Kurtz and Marlow one had feelings the other didn't. Kurtz didn't even mind killing Marlow and his crew by putting the wood out and having the natives attack Marlow’s ship. So I still don’t understand why he did any favors for him (taking him when he was crawling through the jungle)? The thing about Kurtz and Marlow is I think they both understood the darkness (not Marlow until the end really) But I think that’s why Kurtz had so much control over that jungle and the whole operation is he knew how to over come the power of darkness. Kurtz knew how to contain the darkness but in the end it took him over when he was weak. Since Kurtz was able to do that that’s why I think he was so well liked and envied, whether it was the other company workers or the natives, some how he was very well liked even though he was a very dark man with a dark soul. I believe the understanding of Kurtz is what helped Marlow over come the power of darkness in the end (but then again I don’t really know if he did maybe just leaving the jungle did it?).
For the annotating of this book I had to mark key words, outline, etc. and what I found was that this crazy word darkness was a key word? Throughout the whole book it somehow was slipped in and had kind of multiple means to it. Fog collaborates with it because of how it confuses and deceives a person. I also found the river to be key too because the way Marlow would talk, he could be on the river with all his crew members but still feel alone in the darkness and fog on the river. The river twists and turns going up and down dragging a person on a confusing frightening ride. In the end, the darkness takes a person to a place they don’t want to go where it’s lonely, can consume a person’s soul, and even make a person go crazy (but then again that sounds like Kurtz so maybe the darkness consumed him instead of him defeating it in the end really… I really don’t know?). This story just makes a person think when put in that situation how do you over come something darkness and not come out insane?
At the end of the day, the book was tough and took a long time to read, but it was a good challenge and hopefully one day I will understand it more. Hopefully what I said makes some sort of sense.
"This book was a challenge for me!" From reading all the blogs, it wasn't just you! You make a good point when you say, "The thing about Kurtz and Marlow is I think they both understood the darkness (not Marlow until the end really)" I think this is key. What is the darkness and how do they each come to understand it. This is a good post even if you didn't like the book and you struggled with it. :)
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