Worksheet: Question One

In Heart of Darkness, the river which Marlow travels on significantly impacts his behavior throughout the story. The river more or less represents a transportation mechanism for Marlow. It enables him to actually make his journey through the jungle and into Africa. However, the river also has many other purposes. At first, the river acts as a divider for Marlow. It separates him from the natives and the evilness of Kurtz. He is able to take on one challenge at a time without any distractions. Marlow is able to distinguish the good and bad of both sides and make well advised decisions. The river also has negative characteristics. Even though traveling on the river is the fastest method of transportation, it did make traveling a lot harder for Marlow and his crew. As a result of high winds and currents, they had accomplish twice the work load to travel. In essence, the river in someway was holding and restraining Marlow from getting to his ultimate interior goal.