The simile in the first sentence, “going up that river was like traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, is comparing his trip into the unknown forest ahead of him to the first humans’ trip to explore the Earth.
The author uses a lot of imagery which is what makes this passage very descriptive. The description about the air and the forest makes the atmosphere feel gloomy and dark. A place with empty stream, a great silence and impenetrable forest with warm thick heavy, sluggish air.
The tone in this passage seems to be one of distress and distrust. He did not trust the men on aboard his ship, the men on the shore and the actual surroundings he was in. Marlow was also distressed because as he was on this voyage his boat was damaged and he had to deal with that. And the imagery Marlow used in his descriptions is amazing. The images that he used to describe the feeling of traveling in this unknown territory put you right into where he was coming from: 揥e were cut off from the comprehension of our surroundings
The metaphors are also profound and abundant in this passage
This is a defining passage because it alludes to Marlow抯 inner feelings and you can see his emotions and feelings changing and forming in this passage. I feel as though this passage brings us closer to the humane side of Marlow. Here he is in the middle of the Congo surrounded by Europeans that do not care one way or another about anything other than ivory and money and prehistoric man who he calls cannibals and admits that they are savages.
In this passage taken from the Heart of Darkness, the reader is given a number of intertwining themes and symbolic phrases that are presented through the use of specialized language techniques, these language techniques also help to describe the mood of the situation, and the atmosphere. Conrad has used a number of different techniques too communicate his idea’s across to the reader. Some of the themes portrayed in the section include, many metaphors based on the forest, such as the forests power and youthfulness, immensity, and the contrasting natures of mankind and the forest. The atmosphere in the passage remains fairly constant throughout the passage, the darkness and gloom are suggested repeatedly, but throughout you see evidences of other atmospherically changes that occur.
Throughout the passage Conrad continually stresses the immensity and power the forest possesses, using words such as impenetrable and thick, giving the reader a sense that Conrad’s character is in awe of the natural wonder that surrounds him.
The power of the forest is again emphases when Conrad has used personification again to supplement his point, “it looked at you with a vengeful aspect” all through out this passage it is as if the man is at war with the forest, he has to ignore the darkness, and the gloom of the forest, for he is always looking out for hidden dangers that the forest may throw at him, such as “infernal sly old snag” that would have ended his voyage, which would have left the forest victorious. The quote the line a sense of isolation, as though he is traveling into the unknown. He then stresses the darkness of the forest, yet also the heat and light, using words such as gloom, but also brilliance of the sunshine, and how the animals sun bake on the side of the river. us that the forest, the further you progressed from the beginning, the further away from civilization, and the present you found yourself in. He uses the language techniques, such as metaphors and personification to subtlety suggest certain idea’s about Conrad’s underlying themes, they give the reader the mood of the moment, through terms such as gloom, and mystery, we get an idea of what the situation must be like for Marlow. To implement these ideas in this situation Conrad has used personification, to give the forest words that people immediately associate power with; big trees were kings.
As Conrad describes his environment, it takes on almost a supernatural element, that it is not meant for this world, “this strange world of plants of water of silence” as though this is the first time this person has encounted such things. Conrad goes further to explain that the vegetation rioted and that the big trees were kings.
Conrad makes it seem, as though the forest is fighting the man, as though the forest does not want the main character to reach the end of the river, “ you lost your way on that river, as you would in the desert…” “Cut off from finding everything you had known once, somewhere, far away, in another existence perhaps. The atmosphere in this section is bright, lurid, hot, seemingly unpleasant, as Marlow says that the brilliance of the sun gave him no joy, even without the darkness, the nature around him does not provide a comfortable living place.
There is nothing left for me there, except for all that I left behind
