One of the 'reclaimed' carries a rifle at 'its middle.' Marlow walks around to avoid this chain gang and finds a shade to rest. He walks through pieces of 'decaying machinery' and observes a stream of black people walking slowly, very thin and indifferent. Once aboard he learns that a man picked up the other day hanged himself recently. After a month, Marlow arrives at the mouth of the big river and takes his passage on a little steamer. The trade names they pass on ships and on land seem almost farcical. The ship picks up others along the way, mainly soldiers and clerks. The weather is fierce, for the sun beats down strongly. Watching the coast as it slips by, the new skipper marvels at its enigmatic quality-it tempts and invites the seer to come ashore, but in a grim way. With a clean bill of health and a long goodbye chat with his aunt, Marlow sets out on a French steamer, feeling like an 'impostor.' He asks his patient whether there is madness in the family. The doctor becomes cool and says he is no fool. Marlow questions why he is not with the Company on its business. He signs but feels very uneasy as the women look at him meaningfully. Marlow notes an unfinished map, and he sees that he is going into the yellow section, the central area that holds the river. Their office appears to him like a white sepulcher the reception area is dimly lit. He crosses the Channel to sign the contract with his employers. The appointment comes through very quickly, and Marlow is to take the place of Fresleven, a captain who was killed in a scuffle with the natives. His aunt has connections in the Administration and writes to have him appointed a steamboat skipper. Marlow looks for a ship, but he has hard luck finding a position. In his tale, after a number of voyages in the Orient and India, Marlow hopes to get charge of the steamboats that must go up and down that river for trade. He was especially taken with the picture of a long, coiling river. Then, to the dismay of his bored listeners, he switches into narration of a life experience: how he decided to be a fresh water sailor after coming into contact with colonization.Īs a child, Marlow had a passion for maps, and he would lose himself in the blank spaces, which gradually turned into dark ones as they became peopled. This 'taking of the earth is not a pretty thing' when examined too closely it is the idea behind it which people find redeeming. He says those people were not colonists but conquerors, taking everything by brute force. No one responds to the remark, and Marlow continues to talk of olden times when the Romans arrived and brought light, which even now is constantly flickering. Marlow suddenly speaks, noting that 'this also has been one of the dark places of the earth.' He is a man who does not represent his class: he is a seaman but also a wanderer, which is disdainful and odd, since most seamen live sedentary lives aboard the ship that is their home. They sit meditatively at the sun, and the narrator takes great notice of how the water changes as the sun sets. The ship drops anchor, but nobody wants to begin the dominoes game. He has an emaciated appearance-sunken cheeks and a yellow complexion. They already share the 'bond of the sea.' They are tolerant of one another. The Accountant is toying with dominoes, trying to begin a game. The Lawyer is advanced in years and possesses many virtues. They all regard him with affection, trust, and respect. The Director of Companies doubles as Captain and host. He describes at length the appearance of the Thames as an interminable waterway, and then he describes the inhabitants of the ship. The narrator is an unidentified guest aboard the ship. A ship called the Nellie is cruising down the Thames-it will rest there as it awaits a change in tide.

Sparknotes heart of darkness symbols