Heart of Darkness- Part 1

[miranda c]

Nov 2, 2022 21:50:57 GMT -8 notyounice said:

In the book Heart of Darkness, the first few pages of the story start slowly as the narrator spends a lot of time describing the setting rather than the elements or dialogue of the story. When the narrator is describing the setting of the story in which that being the sea, the book places special emphasis on the sea. For example, as the story starts off on a boat, it says, “The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest. The flood had made, the wind was nearly calm, and being bound down the river, the only thing for it was to come to and wait for the turn of the tide.” (Conrad 65). The setting here is characterized as very calm and peaceful. It also talks a lot about the sea here, which it does again when the book says, “Lights of ships moved in the fairway— a great stir of lights going up and going down,” (Conrad 71), as well as “The water shone pacifically; the sky, without a speck, was a benign immensity of unstained light” (Conrad 66). The narrator constantly talking about the sea as the main setting reveals how important the physical location of the setting is to the narrator. And since he is a sailor, it is natural that he would like the sea and be biased or whatnot. Further adding onto this idea is how he describes other settings overall to seem rather gloomy or dull because the narrator is constantly describing things like the marshes, mist and city as “sombre” and “gloomy,” such as when he states, “...the Essex marshes was like a gauzy and radiant fabric, hung from the wooded rises inland, and draping the low shores in diaphanous folds. Only the gloom to the west, brooding over the upper reaches, became more sombre every minute, as if angered by the approach of the sun.” (Conrad 66).

Hi Unice!
I agree with how the author starts off describing setting rather than character or plot. His special emphasis on the sea can be seen as a way of explaining the base of the plot. Most of the story's setting is set on the sea which makes the reader understand how important the surroundings are. The sea is known to have many underlying connotations like being lonely and serene or dangerous and deadly. Conrad explains this well by putting both contrasting explanations of the sea close together. He explains in the beginning how calm and still the sea is but only a page later, he states how the sea tide is an "unceasing service". The sea has many different emotions and Conrad does a great job explaining each one. You did great by pointing this out.

[miranda c]

Nov 2, 2022 13:04:55 GMT -8 Gabby Trevino said:

Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, starts with vivid descriptions that set the scene and add imagery to the readers’ minds. The setting of the novel is a ship, specifically the Nellie, which appears to be going through a calm part of the ocean. Conrad writes, “. The flood had made, the wind was nearly calm, and being bound down the river, the only thing for it was to come to and wait for the turn of the tide…”(Conrad 68). It seems that the main characters are expecting the sea to get more rough, but for now it is calm. This could possibly serve to foreshadow events that will follow in the future. The surroundings besides the water seem very dark and ominous, with depictions of the sky being gloomy. The author writes, “The air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless…” (Conrad 68). This setting along with the title of the novel allow us to predict that something mysterious or unexpected might happen, as gloom and darkness often represent the unknown. In addition, the sea can also represent the unknown or something unexpected that could transpire later in the book. In another description of the sky, Conrad writes, “ Imagine him here—the very end of the world, a sea the colour of lead, a sky the colour of smoke, a kind of ship about as rigid as a concertina..” (Conrad 75) Each of these descriptions establish a melancholic mood as well. The main character is surrounded by other sailors who are in his similar position, but some are more experienced, such as the character Marlow, who describes his personal experiences with the sea. The men on this sheep seem to have some sort of comradery, which is evidenced by their interactions. Conrad writes, “We four affectionately watched his back as he stood in the bows looking to seaward.” (Conrad 68). In addition to the physical setting, we see a setting between the characters and their close, intertwined relationship. It leads us to wonder how the plot development will test their resolve and connection as a group.

Hi Gabby!
I agree that Conrad kicks off the 'Heat of Darkness' with an extremely vivid and detailed description of the setting which gives the reader a chance to create imagery in their mind of where the book takes place. I never thought to assume that it was foreshadowing but now that you explained it, it makes a lot of sense. The title of the book does a great job to put a feeling of worry and anxiousness in our minds that the sea will not stay calm for long. The sea also has an aura of being gloomy and unknown. You did a good job in explaining how not only Conrad explains the setting, he also explained the relationships of the people on board. 

[Colin M]

Heart of Darkness (HOD) takes place on a cruising yawl ( a passenger ship) as it travels with its passengers through the Thames river. “ The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest. The flood had made, the wind was nearly calm, and being bound down the river, the only thing for it was to come to and wait for the turn of the tide.” As the Nellie floats through the water we see the time change and the clouds turn to a reddish orange as the sun begins to go down. “And at last, in its curved and imperceptible fall, the sun sank low, and from glowing white changed to a dull red without rays and without heat, as if about to go out suddenly, stricken to death by the touch of that gloom brooding over a crowd of men.” The author broadens the importance of the Thames itself with the history of the bed of water and all the men who have traveled through it searching for treasure. “The tidal current runs to and fro in its unceasing service, crowded with memories of men and ships it had borne to the rest of home or to the battles of the sea. It had known and served all the men of whom the nation is proud, from Sir Francis Drake to Sir John Franklin, knights all, titled and untitled—the great knights-errant of the sea.” The setting begins a small shift when the author begins to describe where these “Knights of the sea'' are from. “It had known the ships and the men. They had sailed from Deptford, from Greenwich, from Erith—the adventurers and the settlers; kings’ ships and the ships of men on ’Change; captains, admirals, the dark “interlopers” of the Eastern trade, and the commissioned “generals” of East India fleets.

[Carson Woolley]

Heart Of Darkness (HOD) takes place on the RIver Thames, which is a river that runs through England. “The sea-reach of the Thames stretched before us like the beginning of an interminable waterway.” It takes place on a boat called the Nellie, which is “a cruising yawl”. At this point in the text, the Thames was fairly calm, this can be inferred from many points in the book. Such as “the wind was nearly calm”, “the tide seemed to stand still in red clusters of canvas sharply peaked”, and “The air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless”. These few excerpts from the text give the reader an idea of the weather in the setting. It almost seems like a calm before the storm situation. Additionally, the narrator provides a description of each of the characters that are on the boat, and what they are doing; the Director of Companies/Captain (“He resembled a pilot, which to a seaman is trustworthiness personified.”), the Lawyer (“the best of old fellows—had, because of his many years and many virtues, the only cushion on deck, and was lying on the only rug.”), the Accountant (“brought out already a box of dominoes, and was toying architecturally with the bones.”), Marlow (“sat cross-legged right aft, leaning against the mizzen-mast. He had sunken cheeks, a yellow complexion, a straight back, an ascetic aspect, and, with his arms dropped, the palms of hands outwards, resembled an idol.”), and the Director (“satisfied the anchor had good hold, made his way aft and sat down amongst us.”). Throughout part 1 of the text there are several more excellent descriptions of the setting. Such as, “The water shone pacifically; the sky, without a speck, was a benign immensity of unstained light; the very mist on the Essex marshes was like a gauzy and radiant fabric, hung from the wooded rises inland, and draping the low shores in diaphanous folds. Only the gloom to the west, brooding over the upper reaches, became more sombre every minute, as if angered by the approach of the sun.”, “The sun set; the dusk fell on the stream, and lights began to appear along the shore. The Chapman lighthouse, a three-legged thing erect on a mud-flat, shone strongly. Lights of ships moved in the fairway— a great stir of lights going up and going down.”, and “Flames glided in the river, small green flames, red flames, white flames, pursuing, overtaking, joining, crossing each other—then separating slowly or hastily.”.

[Sophia Owens]

In the short novel The Heart of darkness by Joseph Conrad there is an extensive description on the setting where the characters are at the start of the novel which can help give us insight into the events that might occur later in the novel.The first setting that we can discern from the text is a boat or ship on a river. You can come to this conclusion by looking at certain parts of the text. These parts are, “The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest.” With the use of the words anchor and sails we are able to picture a ship or boat. Even just stating cruising yawl already gives us a big hint of what the setting is because a cruising yawl is a type of ship. Some other examples of Conrad describing the setting is, “On the whole river there was nothing that looked half so nautical. He resembled a pilot, which to a seaman is trustworthiness personified.” With just the beginning of the quote we can see that the characters are in a river. And with the description of the seaman and flying we can assume that this seaman is the one “flying” the boat which just gives us further confirmation that the setting in the beginning of this novel is on a boat that is traveling along the river. At this point in the story the author had described things in a gloom and fog. But later on in the story there was a shift in the setting. “We felt meditative, and fit for nothing but placid staring. The day was ending in a serenity of still and exquisite brilliance.” With this quote we can see the change in the setting by showing the serenity of where the characters are. “The water shone pacifically; the sky, without a speck, was a benign immensity of unstained light; the very mist on the Essex marshes was like a gauzy and radiant fabric, hung from the wooded rises inland, and draping the low shores in diaphanous folds.” This quote shows how the air changed and became clear and looks as if it was fabric that was there and not the sun.” Only the gloom to the west, brooding over the upper reaches, became more somber every minute, as if angered by the approach of the sun.” Finally this quote shows us that we can see the distinction of the two areas and the contrast of the bright sun and the gloom of the fog. My question is to wonder if the storytelling is also a setting that the novel has.

[Aidan G]

In "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad, the narrator begins the story on board a small ship called the Nellie in a river in London. The narrator describes the sea as silent and the ship is moving at a very slow pace. He states, "The air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless over the biggest, and the greatest, town on earth. […] We exchanged a few words lazily. Afterwards there was silence on board the yacht. " (Conrad 3-4). The narrator portrays the condition of the setting and their atmosphere as gloomy and dull. The atmosphere of the characters' current setting stayed silent until Marlow begins his story of his past adventure to the Congo. This is when the setting in the story switches to the Congo in Marlow's story, while the characters are slowly sailing on Thames River in London. Marlow states, "A narrow and deserted street in deep shadow, high houses, innumerable windows with venetian blinds, a dead silence, grass sprouting between the stones, imposing carriage archways right and left, immense double doors standing ponderously ajar" (Conrad 14). The descriptions of the buildings in Marlow's story show that the setting is no longer on a body of water, but rather in a town. Marlow continues his story by describing his conversation with the Brickmaker, who complained that he could never find the essential materials needed to make bricks. Part 1 ends with Marlow stating, "I had plenty of time for meditation, and now and then I would give some thought to Kurtz. I wasn’t very interested in him. No. Still, I was curious to see whether this man, who had come out equipped with moral ideas of some sort, would climb to the top after all and how he would set about his work when there" (Conrad 51). His goal in his tale was to find materials to repair his ship, however was also curious of who this person named Kurtz was like.

[Carson Woolley]

Nov 2, 2022 19:00:05 GMT -8 danielchang said:

In "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad, the narrator begins the story on board a small ship called the Nellie in a river in London. The narrator describes the sea as silent and the ship is moving at a very slow pace. He states, "The air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless over the biggest, and the greatest, town on earth. […] We exchanged a few words lazily. Afterwards there was silence on board the yacht. " (Conrad 3-4). The narrator portrays the condition of the setting and their atmosphere as gloomy and dull. The atmosphere of the characters' current setting stayed silent until Marlow begins his story of his past adventure to the Congo. This is when the setting in the story switches to the Congo in Marlow's story, while the characters are slowly sailing on Thames River in London. Marlow states, "A narrow and deserted street in deep shadow, high houses, innumerable windows with venetian blinds, a dead silence, grass sprouting between the stones, imposing carriage archways right and left, immense double doors standing ponderously ajar" (Conrad 14). The descriptions of the buildings in Marlow's story show that the setting is no longer on a body of water, but rather in a town. Marlow continues his story by describing his conversation with the Brickmaker, who complained that he could never find the essential materials needed to make bricks. Part 1 ends with Marlow stating, "I had plenty of time for meditation, and now and then I would give some thought to Kurtz. I wasn’t very interested in him. No. Still, I was curious to see whether this man, who had come out equipped with moral ideas of some sort, would climb to the top after all and how he would set about his work when there" (Conrad 51). His goal in his tale was to find materials to repair his ship, however was also curious of who this person named Kurtz was like.

I agree with everything you said, this was a very well put together response that truly captures and shows the setting in part one of Heart Of Darkness.

[Colin M]

Nov 2, 2022 13:56:31 GMT -8 isabellacruz said:

In the novel "Heart of Darkness & The Secret Sharer," Joseph Conrad creates a vivid imagery of illustration regarding the setting of the scene. It is evident that the setting takes place out on the sea as described in the text, "The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of sails, and was at rest," (Conrad 65). Additionally, the scene is described in more detail, giving the reader more familiarity as the text says "The sea-reach of the Thames stretched before us like the beginning of an interminable waterway," (Conrad 65). Not only does Conrad utilize vivid imagery of the scene, he moreover includes the description of time, allowing the reader to envision when actions of events occurred. The text mentions that "The sun set; the dusk fell on the stream, and the lights began to appear along the shore," (Conrad 67). To develop more sophistication, the setting plays a further role of characterization of the figures of the story. The individuals on the ship regard themselves as "seamen," in correlation with the setting. In reason of the story's plot revealing itself on the water, the characters tend to use the setting as personal character traits as well. In "Heart of Darkness," we see that the text instantly depicts the scene with much detail for imagery, however it also serves as the introduction to allow for character development. Inclusion of the elements of detail, vivid imagery, and the heavily nuanced diction produces an intricate story line later to be followed by the reader. From initially reading the text, one question I have is if the setting seems to be depicted more in a calm sense or rather in an eerie sense. 

Great job going into detail about the imagery that is being displayed inn the text by the author. I enjoyed the in depth analysis that was put into this piece.

[Carson Woolley]

Nov 4, 2022 9:53:24 GMT -8 Colin M said:

Heart of Darkness (HOD) takes place on a cruising yawl ( a passenger ship) as it travels with its passengers through the Thames river. “ The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest. The flood had made, the wind was nearly calm, and being bound down the river, the only thing for it was to come to and wait for the turn of the tide.” As the Nellie floats through the water we see the time change and the clouds turn to a reddish orange as the sun begins to go down. “And at last, in its curved and imperceptible fall, the sun sank low, and from glowing white changed to a dull red without rays and without heat, as if about to go out suddenly, stricken to death by the touch of that gloom brooding over a crowd of men.” The author broadens the importance of the Thames itself with the history of the bed of water and all the men who have traveled through it searching for treasure. “The tidal current runs to and fro in its unceasing service, crowded with memories of men and ships it had borne to the rest of home or to the battles of the sea. It had known and served all the men of whom the nation is proud, from Sir Francis Drake to Sir John Franklin, knights all, titled and untitled—the great knights-errant of the sea.” The setting begins a small shift when the author begins to describe where these “Knights of the sea'' are from. “It had known the ships and the men. They had sailed from Deptford, from Greenwich, from Erith—the adventurers and the settlers; kings’ ships and the ships of men on ’Change; captains, admirals, the dark “interlopers” of the Eastern trade, and the commissioned “generals” of East India fleets.

Fantastic, I love how you incorporate quotes to show the setting, instead of jut describing the text.

[Colin M]

Nov 4, 2022 9:59:27 GMT -8 Aidan G said:

In "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad, the narrator begins the story on board a small ship called the Nellie in a river in London. The narrator describes the sea as silent and the ship is moving at a very slow pace. He states, "The air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless over the biggest, and the greatest, town on earth. […] We exchanged a few words lazily. Afterwards there was silence on board the yacht. " (Conrad 3-4). The narrator portrays the condition of the setting and their atmosphere as gloomy and dull. The atmosphere of the characters' current setting stayed silent until Marlow begins his story of his past adventure to the Congo. This is when the setting in the story switches to the Congo in Marlow's story, while the characters are slowly sailing on Thames River in London. Marlow states, "A narrow and deserted street in deep shadow, high houses, innumerable windows with venetian blinds, a dead silence, grass sprouting between the stones, imposing carriage archways right and left, immense double doors standing ponderously ajar" (Conrad 14). The descriptions of the buildings in Marlow's story show that the setting is no longer on a body of water, but rather in a town. Marlow continues his story by describing his conversation with the Brickmaker, who complained that he could never find the essential materials needed to make bricks. Part 1 ends with Marlow stating, "I had plenty of time for meditation, and now and then I would give some thought to Kurtz. I wasn’t very interested in him. No. Still, I was curious to see whether this man, who had come out equipped with moral ideas of some sort, would climb to the top after all and how he would set about his work when there" (Conrad 51). His goal in his tale was to find materials to repair his ship, however was also curious of who this person named Kurtz was like.

Good in depth analysis. I enjoyed you detail and textual evidence that you provided throughout your piece.

[Julia]

"Heart of darkness" by Joseph Conrad is a classic novel that comments on the truths of western colonialism during the nineteenth century by utilizing various rhetorical strategies and having an elaborate setting. At the beginning of the novel, we are introduced to the first sub-setting: a boat voyaging through the ocean. The precise location is not named, but rather the surrounding scenery of the water. This is shown in the first section when it reads, “In the offing the sea and the sky were welded together without a joint, and in the luminous space the tanned sails of the barges drifting up with the tide seemed to stand still in red clusters of canvas sharply peaked, with gleams of varnished spirits.” This shows the age and condition of the boat when Conrad describes it as luminous and tanned, meaning it has spent time in the sun. Additionally it speaks of the surrounding sky and sea and the strength of the tide. Later in this section he writes of the time period when colonialism was taking place; “I was thinking of very old times, when the Romans first came here, nineteen hundred years ago— the other day. . . .” This quote proves that they are in the nineteenth century because the Romans invaded England during the 100 B.C. times, hence that would set the story at approximately 1800. Overall the physical setting and literary movement of the time contributes to the overall criticism of western colonialism, as those events were unfolding during this setting.

[Sophia Owens]

Nov 2, 2022 19:00:05 GMT -8 danielchang said:

In "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad, the narrator begins the story on board a small ship called the Nellie in a river in London. The narrator describes the sea as silent and the ship is moving at a very slow pace. He states, "The air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless over the biggest, and the greatest, town on earth. […] We exchanged a few words lazily. Afterwards there was silence on board the yacht. " (Conrad 3-4). The narrator portrays the condition of the setting and their atmosphere as gloomy and dull. The atmosphere of the characters' current setting stayed silent until Marlow begins his story of his past adventure to the Congo. This is when the setting in the story switches to the Congo in Marlow's story, while the characters are slowly sailing on Thames River in London. Marlow states, "A narrow and deserted street in deep shadow, high houses, innumerable windows with venetian blinds, a dead silence, grass sprouting between the stones, imposing carriage archways right and left, immense double doors standing ponderously ajar" (Conrad 14). The descriptions of the buildings in Marlow's story show that the setting is no longer on a body of water, but rather in a town. Marlow continues his story by describing his conversation with the Brickmaker, who complained that he could never find the essential materials needed to make bricks. Part 1 ends with Marlow stating, "I had plenty of time for meditation, and now and then I would give some thought to Kurtz. I wasn’t very interested in him. No. Still, I was curious to see whether this man, who had come out equipped with moral ideas of some sort, would climb to the top after all and how he would set about his work when there" (Conrad 51). His goal in his tale was to find materials to repair his ship, however was also curious of who this person named Kurtz was like.

I agree with what you found in the setting and with the setting shift that you found. I liked that you stated in your response that Conrad used visual imagery in order to create the gloominess that helps portray the setting in the beginning of the story. I also enjoyed how you used the silence on the yacht towards the setting and what mood it shows. The use of the quote that describe the buildings help show the contrasting settings between the water and the Congo where the story takes places.

[Emily Z]

In the Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad the author uses vivid descriptions, imagery and personification for the readers to further understand the scenery of the story. The setting started off taking place on a small ship moored on the Thames River in London. “ The Nillie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails and was at rest..The sea-reah of the Thames stretched before us like the beginning of an interminable waterway.” (Conrad 65 ) The narrator started describing the river and its calmness. “ The day was ending in a serenity of still and exquisite brilliance. The Water shone pacifically; the sky, without a speck.” (Conrad 66) As the sun went down there was a sudden change with the calming waters. “A change came over the waters, and the serenity became less brilliant but more profound..The tidal current runs to and fro in its unceasing service.” (Conrad 66) The Narrator then went on describing the Thames river using personification “..crowded with memories of men and ships it had borne to the rest of home or to the battles of the sea. It had known and served all the men of whom the nation is proud of..It had known the ships and the men.” (Conrad 67) The river where the Narrator's ship is on was described to be calming on some days and also crazy on other days but either way the river was a place where people go. The lights from the shore of the Thames river began to light up and the Narrator mentioned, “..the dusk fell on the stream and the lights began to appear along the shore. The Chapman lighthouse, a three-legged thing erect on a mud-flat, shone strongly.” (Conrad 67) The Narrator describes the powerful lighthouse from the shore that lit up for the ships and the men on the river telling the men to keep going and “‘follow the sea’” (Conrad 67) .

[Jake Brenes]

We can see at the beginning of the text that the author states “The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest”, so we can infer that the ship is out on the water where it is at rest with no wind affecting it. The author brings in more of the setting when stating, “A haze rested on the low shores that ran out to sea in vanishing flatness. The air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless over the biggest, and the greatest, town on earth.” This tells the reader that it is turning night time, especially when it says “We exchanged a few words lazily.” and “The sun sank low”. Now that we know there is men out at sea during the night they start to talk about darkness and give description of darkness saying its savage and its when men steal and murder, “Land in a swamp, march through the woods, and in some inland post feel the savagery, the utter savagery.” and “They grabbed what they could get for the sake of what was to be got. It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind—as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness” and I believe this is the first introduction to the darkness of the humans heart, how evil and wicked mans heart can truly be.

[Ally Plata]

At the beginning of the section we see several instances of setting that help the reader to develop a clearer understanding of where the story is taking place and the voyage that is being described in the story. We are introduced to, “The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest.” This is where we are first introduced to the ship, and the reader is starting to paint an image in their head of more of a colonial setting, from perhaps the 19th century. More evidence includes where the author writes, “In the offing of the sea and the sky were welded together without a joint, and in the luminous space the tanned sails of the barges drifting up with the tide seemed to stand still in red clusters of canvas sharply peaked, with gleams of varnished spirits.” In this quote, we see that the author gives us more imagery as to where the story is unfolding. We see that the people are on a large ship , out on sea, and are surrounded by other ships. We see phrases such as “mournful gloom” which help to create a darker tone that produces possible feelings of uncertainty or maybe even a foreboding tone. “It was difficult to realize his work was not out there in the luminous estuary, but behind him, within the brooding gloom.” This excerpt indicates that the seamen are nervous upon the realization that they are venturing into a darker, potentially dangerous, part of the ocean--and are leaving the sanctuary of the kinder waters.