Hello hello I'm having trouble understanding the chain of events in Part II.
1)Is the manager accompanying Marlow the same manager we saw in Part I?
2)on p.153, after Marlow is ambushed by the natives, he says "I laid the ghosts of his [Kurtz's] gifts with a lie." ---> what does he mean?
3) Marlow also mentions "the disinterred body of Mr Kurtz," "the lofty frontal bone of Mr Kurtz," even after assuring the audience that "the privilege [of meeting Kurtz] was waiting for me." ---> I dont quite grasp why phrases so vividly indicative of Kurtz's death would be mentioned in that particular section of his narrative.
4) and in that same same paragraph Marlow jumps back to reality and finds heaps of ivory. ---> where does the ivory come from?
5) After that (still on the same paragraph), Marlow lapses again into another one of his soliloquoys -- about the "powers of darkness;" solitude, silence and faith; how "All Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz;" the 'eloquent' report written my Kurtz; his symapthy towards the dead helmsman.
---> how do those thoughts connect with each other and with the events of the story? the ideas are profound but seem driftless and even irrelevant to the immediate actions occuring around Marlow.
6) The explanatory notes for pg155 (on pg214)inform us about Aurthur Hodister but I don't see how that reference is connected to the text.
I'll do the first (and simpler) half of your questions now and come back to the others tomorrow, if you can wait.
1) Yes it's the same manager, the one who was trying to delay Marlow and let Kurtz die. He doesn't seem to attempt any significant act of sabotage on the way, but remember that Marlow has already said that the manager 'nicely' judged how long he needed to make Marlow wait before they set out.
2) I don't want to give too much away at this stage, but this refers to what Marlow says about Kurtz once he returns to Europe.
"I laid the ghost of his gifts" is, I assume, a shortened sentence which could have the words "to rest" at the end, as in "to lay to rest", i.e. to make something at peace, to leave something finished and quiet.
This means that, at some later stage, Marlow had the chance to remember, pass on or somehow enable Kurtz's "gifts" to continue, but instead chose a lie which drew a final line under events and formed the conclusion to the tale.
The "gifts" he refers to could be a number of things, including Kurtz's achievements in setting up a trading post and gathering ivory, the influence he has on the natives and other people, or the insight he passes on to Marlow when they meet.
3) Although "disinterred" usually means "removed from the ground", e.g. a body which is dug up, it can also mean "to bring out of obscurity". In this case, Marlow is talking about Kurtz being taken out of his station in the heart of the jungle.
The full sentence is "You should have heard the disinterred body of Mr Kurtz saying 'My Intended'"(p.153) which shows that he isn't dead.
The "lofty frontal bone" is also not an indication of death, but is an echo of the doctor and his study of craniology. The frontal bone is part of the skull, basically the forehead and area above the eyes.
However, the description of Kurtz as a "disinterred body" and the aside that "the hair goes on growing" (i.e. after death) are not accidental, and there are a number of similar words and phrases used to refer to Kurtz. See the note on p.214.
4) The ivory Marlow mentions is the ivory in Kurtz's station. He hasn't actually "jumped" back yet - this is part of the same passage in which Marlow has moved past his meeting with Kurtz, and is looking back on it as he relates it to his audience. In the narrative of the story, he hasn't actually reached the station yet.
This break begins on p.152, when someone sighs and Marlow says "Here, give me some tobacco", and continues on p.156 as he remembers the dead helmsman, and picks up the thread of the story after "Poor fool!"
In between, Marlow thinks about Kurtz and his impressions of the man, although in the actual story he is telling he hasn't got to the meeting with Kurtz yet. I hope that's clear!
wow... thank you for all the help! :D yes that cleared a lot up. and I did get to the end, which gives me a better scope of things, at least better than before.
I. So does that mean the strange thread of thought from pg 152 and 156 is just Marlow's introspect of his whole experience? because in that case that would answer my 5th question :-)
II. And why doesn't Marlow simply tell the story in chronological order? Is that for style, to kindle a more colloquial air to Marlow's narrative (by creating a natural flow of consciousness)? Or did Conrad feel the need to express those ideas to give his story more philosophical purpose? because time warps in narratives are confusing...
(I'm sorry for all my questions!!...)
III. Is Marlow's first real encounter with Kurtz on pg 166?
and if it is, why doesn't he feel more respect toward the man, after all the anticipation? ---> on pg 166, 16 lines from the botton: "I resented bitterly the absurd danger of our situation, as if to be at the mercy of that atrocious phantom had been a dishonoring necessity."
If I'm straying away from the actual topic of the story with my questions I'm really sorry. Thanks for all your answers though!
Questions are good, and you're not straying from the topic. The story IS the topic, right?
152-156 are indeed Marlow's reflections on events he hasn't related yet, so Marlow's audience, and the reader, are made aware of some of Marlow's interpretations of and reactions to events before they 'happen' in the story he is telling.
Interruptions like this can seem confusing, but it might help if you remember that the text itself is in chronological order; the narrator is telling us what Marlow says, in the order that he says it.
Marlow's story, on the other hand, is not completely linear, as he muses (as much to himself, as to his listeners, who he is not always sure are still awake) on events that he still doesn't seem sure about.
The point of this is something we can discuss together - it's more important at this stage that you understand what actually happens in parts 2 and 3. There is an element of foreshadowing, and it also relates to Conrad's use of a frame-narrator, but the intention is hard to pin down, like many other things in the novella.
The same applies to your question III, which is something that you and the rest of the class should think about for yourselves and discuss. There are reasons for Marlow's resentment at this point, but I'd rather hear your interpretations first!
Hello hello
ReplyDeleteI'm having trouble understanding the chain of events in Part II.
1)Is the manager accompanying Marlow the same manager we saw in Part I?
2)on p.153, after Marlow is ambushed by the natives, he says "I laid the ghosts of his [Kurtz's] gifts with a lie."
---> what does he mean?
3) Marlow also mentions "the disinterred body of Mr Kurtz," "the lofty frontal bone of Mr Kurtz," even after assuring the audience that "the privilege [of meeting Kurtz] was waiting for me."
---> I dont quite grasp why phrases so vividly indicative of Kurtz's death would be mentioned in that particular section of his narrative.
4) and in that same same paragraph Marlow jumps back to reality and finds heaps of ivory.
---> where does the ivory come from?
5) After that (still on the same paragraph), Marlow lapses again into another one of his soliloquoys -- about the "powers of darkness;" solitude, silence and faith; how "All Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz;" the 'eloquent' report written my Kurtz; his symapthy towards the dead helmsman.
---> how do those thoughts connect with each other and with the events of the story? the ideas are profound but seem driftless and even irrelevant to the immediate actions occuring around Marlow.
6) The explanatory notes for pg155 (on pg214)inform us about Aurthur Hodister but I don't see how that reference is connected to the text.
sorry this is a bit long!
onegaishimasu (^0^)/
Hello!
ReplyDeleteI'll do the first (and simpler) half of your questions now and come back to the others tomorrow, if you can wait.
1) Yes it's the same manager, the one who was trying to delay Marlow and let Kurtz die. He doesn't seem to attempt any significant act of sabotage on the way, but remember that Marlow has already said that the manager 'nicely' judged how long he needed to make Marlow wait before they set out.
2) I don't want to give too much away at this stage, but this refers to what Marlow says about Kurtz once he returns to Europe.
"I laid the ghost of his gifts" is, I assume, a shortened sentence which could have the words "to rest" at the end, as in "to lay to rest", i.e. to make something at peace, to leave something finished and quiet.
This means that, at some later stage, Marlow had the chance to remember, pass on or somehow enable Kurtz's "gifts" to continue, but instead chose a lie which drew a final line under events and formed the conclusion to the tale.
The "gifts" he refers to could be a number of things, including Kurtz's achievements in setting up a trading post and gathering ivory, the influence he has on the natives and other people, or the insight he passes on to Marlow when they meet.
3) Although "disinterred" usually means "removed from the ground", e.g. a body which is dug up, it can also mean "to bring out of obscurity". In this case, Marlow is talking about Kurtz being taken out of his station in the heart of the jungle.
The full sentence is "You should have heard the disinterred body of Mr Kurtz saying 'My Intended'"(p.153) which shows that he isn't dead.
The "lofty frontal bone" is also not an indication of death, but is an echo of the doctor and his study of craniology. The frontal bone is part of the skull, basically the forehead and area above the eyes.
However, the description of Kurtz as a "disinterred body" and the aside that "the hair goes on growing" (i.e. after death) are not accidental, and there are a number of similar words and phrases used to refer to Kurtz. See the note on p.214.
4) The ivory Marlow mentions is the ivory in Kurtz's station. He hasn't actually "jumped" back yet - this is part of the same passage in which Marlow has moved past his meeting with Kurtz, and is looking back on it as he relates it to his audience. In the narrative of the story, he hasn't actually reached the station yet.
This break begins on p.152, when someone sighs and Marlow says "Here, give me some tobacco", and continues on p.156 as he remembers the dead helmsman, and picks up the thread of the story after "Poor fool!"
In between, Marlow thinks about Kurtz and his impressions of the man, although in the actual story he is telling he hasn't got to the meeting with Kurtz yet. I hope that's clear!
**********
Does that help for now?
I'll get to 5 and 6 soon.
wow... thank you for all the help! :D
ReplyDeleteyes that cleared a lot up. and I did get to the end, which gives me a better scope of things, at least better than before.
I. So does that mean the strange thread of thought from pg 152 and 156 is just Marlow's introspect of his whole experience?
because in that case that would answer my 5th question :-)
II. And why doesn't Marlow simply tell the story in chronological order? Is that for style, to kindle a more colloquial air to Marlow's narrative (by creating a natural flow of consciousness)? Or did Conrad feel the need to express those ideas to give his story more philosophical purpose?
because time warps in narratives are confusing...
(I'm sorry for all my questions!!...)
III. Is Marlow's first real encounter with Kurtz on pg 166?
and if it is, why doesn't he feel more respect toward the man, after all the anticipation?
---> on pg 166, 16 lines from the botton: "I resented bitterly the absurd danger of our situation, as if to be at the mercy of that atrocious phantom had been a dishonoring necessity."
If I'm straying away from the actual topic of the story with my questions I'm really sorry. Thanks for all your answers though!
Questions are good, and you're not straying from the topic. The story IS the topic, right?
ReplyDelete152-156 are indeed Marlow's reflections on events he hasn't related yet, so Marlow's audience, and the reader, are made aware of some of Marlow's interpretations of and reactions to events before they 'happen' in the story he is telling.
Interruptions like this can seem confusing, but it might help if you remember that the text itself is in chronological order; the narrator is telling us what Marlow says, in the order that he says it.
Marlow's story, on the other hand, is not completely linear, as he muses (as much to himself, as to his listeners, who he is not always sure are still awake) on events that he still doesn't seem sure about.
The point of this is something we can discuss together - it's more important at this stage that you understand what actually happens in parts 2 and 3. There is an element of foreshadowing, and it also relates to Conrad's use of a frame-narrator, but the intention is hard to pin down, like many other things in the novella.
The same applies to your question III, which is something that you and the rest of the class should think about for yourselves and discuss. There are reasons for Marlow's resentment at this point, but I'd rather hear your interpretations first!
okay. thank you :-)
ReplyDelete