Once the Romans got to Britain many of them got sick and died from diseases that they got on their journey and the fact that they weren't used to the weather. In Marlow's allegory, he says, "death skulking in the air, in the water, in the bush." Marlow uses this same description later in the book to describe Africa. He goes to sit next to the ivory station while he was waiting for his ship to take him into the Congo to meet Kurtz and he notices that he is surrounded by dead bodies. He sees dead bodies half on land, half in the river. Marlow says, ["Near the same tree two more bundles of acute angles sat with their legs drawn up. One with his chin propped on his knees, stared at nothing, in an intolerable and appalling manner: his brother phantom rested its forehead as if over-come with a great weariness; and all about others were scattered in every pose of contorted collapse, as in some picture of a massacre or a pestilence."]
When the Roman soldiers came to kill the British partisans, the partisans did not give in. They fought until the end. Marlow said they had the hearts of wild men. In Africa, when Marlow was on the ship, an African tribe jumped on the ship. Marlow and "the Russian fought them. In the end, Marlow put on the siren to scare them away, but they had already killed two people on the ship and lost many of their own. Although they knew that they were going to die, they were not scared to attack the ship.
Marlow describes the behavior of the Roman soldiers during the British conquest. He says " the conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much ", However in the middle of his description he suddenly refers to "Those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves".
In this statement, we can see that Marlow starts to relate to what happens in the book, about him going to Africa. He throws the reader a hint about the connection between the opening scene and his experience in Africa. By saying "ourselves" he means that the British were also conquerors of Africa (those who have slightly flatter noses).
Then you have Marlow talking about the wilderness that the Roman soldier feels when he was in England, Marlow referrers to them in the book as (wilderness, like a needle in a bundle of hay) the way that he puts it in the book is "Here and there a military camp lost in a wilderness, like a needle in a bundle of hay ".
And what happened to Marlow when he went to Africa was that he felt that he was in a wilderness, and that was like a needle in a bundle of hay. That happened to Marlow was because Marlow got to a point when he was a changed person, he lost his trust in people in Africa that he worked with, he didn't know where does he belong and he was afraid. And was confused where to go and who are his real friends which he could trust and feel in good hands. And that is the same way the Roman solider felt at those times.
Marlow then says that most of the Roman soldiers were still in England was the fact that the can get a promotion, he says "perhaps he was cheered up by keeping his eye on a chance of promotion to the fleet at Ravenna". So that shows you that the soldier main motivation was to have a promotion do that shows you that every person as his own way of thinking that keeps him doing stuff that he really doesn't like in order that he will get what he really wants at the end.
But in Marlow case it was different, Marlow's first motivation that made him go to Africa was the fact that he wanted to explore the land, but then it all changed his motivation that made Marlow stay in Africa was the fact that he wanted to meet Mr Kurtz and that’s why Marlow stayed in Africa not like the other people, the other people stayed in Africa because the wanted to put there hands on the Ivory and take some of it for their pocket.
So that leads us to our next point in the first scene when Marlow is describing
When the Roman solders came to conquer England he mentions this sentence " to mend fortunes" what he means here when the Roman soldier went with the tax collector when they finished collecting the money he used to take a bit to his own pocket . but when it came to Marlow's time the people that worked with Marlow in Africa the used to take to the own pocket some of the Ivory that has been collected at that time and some even stayed there waiting for some one to leave their job or die and take over his place.
Marlow then starts to talk about the land and how he feels the savagery skulking in the air and how he felt himself in a place that he shouldn't be in.
He says that the Roman soldier felt the same way that Marlow felt in Africa and Marlow says" to mend his fortunes. Land in swamp, march through the woods, and in some inland post feel the savagery "in here you can feel that the Roman soldier felt that him being in England is not the right place to be. And that’s how Marlow felt in the Africa, when he was on the Congo River on his way to meet Mr. Kurtz.
Marlow starts to talk after that about how the Roman soldier hates to be in England he uses the word (detestable) for describing the feeling of the roman soldier that came to England and he puts it in that when the Roman soldier came to England not Knowing, not Familiar or different place that was a place that he was not used to it didn't like how it looked and the most important was the fact that it was not familiar that gave him the reason to hate the place even more harmful and insecure.
That is the same way Marlow felt when he came to Africa but the problem Marlow faced in Africa where a bit different than the Roman soldier felt because Marlow came from a different time and that can have a huge impact on the way they should feel about things that go on in their life.
Marlow felt detest because the way the people where tired and the way the British people didn't look after each other they just were greedy and didn't care about their crew members only about them selves but if it was during the Roman soldiers time it you would be ok if you were like that kind of person.
Marlow mentions nearly at the end on the first scene some thing about regrets, longing to escape, powerless disgust, hate. And those where the feeling that the Roman soldier felt and in the book it is written that way "Imagine the growing regrets, the longing to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the hate"
Here as you can see that the really could feel what the Roman soldier felt and that it does give you back up on the way the book has been settled because in the book it says that in actual Marlow pauses for a second. So you can see that maybe he has been in this situation and that’s why he takes a pause.When he said that about the Roman soldier.
Marlow says at the end that the Roman soldier grabbed what they could take.
And he says in the book "they grabbed what they could get for the sake of what was to be got" that means that the Roman soldiers took everything the could take by robbing the citizen of England with violence and aggravated murder on a great scale and that’s what happen to Marlow in Africa the British people who worked in Africa treated the African people the same way too they took there Ivory there land and they used to kill them and they didn't care about how they feel.
The British people in Africa only cared about one thing is how to get more Ivory without the other crew members will fine out.
Marlow didn't like what was going on in Africa because he saw what was going on in Africa and he saw that way that they treated the citizens it was the same way that the Roman soldiers treated the English citizens and that caused him to think that all of the things that England is saying to the World about developing Africa in being a better country.
But England was only improving her economy and a land by taking over the territory
So that’s why Marlow didn't like being in Africa.
In conclusion, the reader understands the connection between the first scene in the
book and the final scene in the book from Kurtz's death. Before Kurtz died Marlow looked after him and he was with him when he died and heard his last words. Kurtz's last words were "the horror, the horror ". Those words affected Marlow a lot .They haunted him. People thought the he was crazy when he came back because he couldn't stop hearing the last words echoing in this head.
But when Marlow met Kurtz's girlfriend he changed the way he felt from the paranoid man to a man who felt safe. He was first angry because she was saying things about Kurtz that Marlow didn't think were true. She didn't know how Kurtz changed and became a very cruel man. Marlow wanted to tell her what Kurtz was really like but he couldn't. He had to stop and not tell her the truth. He didn't want to hurt her or ruin her life. So he lied to her. Right after he lied, his heart stood still. He was waiting for the roof to collapse and for the heavens to fall on him. But noting happened.
Although Kurtz's voice had been strong and he had been a powerful man, when you are dead, nothing is going to happen.
The experience of lying showed Marlow the truth about life. It released him from Kurtz because the voice stopped echoing in his head. He learned that life goes on ["the old river in its broad reach rested unruffled at the decline of day, after ages of good service done to the race that peopled its banks, spread out in the tranquil dignity of a waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth."] River never changes; people come and go. The African story like the Roman story is another story that the river will hold.
At the end of the story we see Marlow sitting "indistinct and silent, in the pose of a meditating Buddha", Marlow became a peaceful man after finding out that Kurtz couldn't do anything to him. At that moment we find out that we were in a circle of life, "Marlow's Life". You see every change and every conflict within him, from the beginning till the end.
Although Marlow did stop hearing Kurtz echo in his head and felt librated from Kurtz he still loved him and have a special place for him in his heart that you can still feel that he adored him.
Because even thought he passed that trip when he talks about it you still have the part when he talks about Kurtz which was nit such a nice experience but he excuses Kurtz on how he acted and he says that he had the right to do what he has done it is not in his hand. Well that shows you how much he was "in love " with Kurtz .
Although Marlow when he first came to Africa he saw all of that stuff going on but he didn't bother to go home . I think the whole book is trying to explain that moment which you can't explain when you see a place that you don't like to be in however you stay there , waiting for something new to happen or the next deserter to happen. and you know that it is ot a safe place to be in but you stay any way like Marlow did . Maybe John Conrad explains the true Heart of Darkness. Everyone has it in his soul it is the place when you know that you are heading for trouble but you continue anyway.