Page 46

"In a few days the Eldorado Expedition went into the patient wilderness, that closed upon it as the sea closes over a diver. Long afterwards the news came that all the donkeys were dead.  I know nothing as to the fate of the less valuable animals. They, no doubt, like the rest of us, found what they deserved. I did not inquire..."

This paragraph is a turning point in the novel. The narrators tone changes here as can be seen in the lines about the animals dying and "the less valuable animals" finding what they deserve. What or who the less valuable animals are is ambiguous but I take it to mean men of the expedition, maybe slaves if you want to be specific. Taken in this light the lines have a very heavy meaning. From Marlow's unattached attitude we can see that he is or has become very unattached to humans in general. He has no faith and does not care if people die, they may actually deserve it. Death is inevitable. The jungle is patient.

Because this paragraph comes directly after Marlow's eavesdropping experience with the two expedition men who were talking in front of the boat in which he clearly expresses distaste for their selfishness it has an even more significant impact.

It is also at around this time that it becomes clear that Marlow's attitude regarding Kurtz has changed. I, however, missed the exact moment. Missing things has been a common occurrence for me in this novel because it is so condensed and major changes happen within only sentences. I have found myself lost on several occasions and had to reread pages in order to find out why certain unexpected things were happening. It is similar to the feeling of skipping a page in any other novel and becoming suddenly lost. However, in the case of Heart of Darkness the sensation arises without pages actually having been skipped. If anyone can shed some light as to what exactly made Marlow's opinion of Kurtz change that would be appreciated.

After the above quoted paragraph the novel becomes much darker in tone than in the preceding fifty or so pages. The jungle has started to corrupt them. Or are they already corrupted? In any case the descriptions of the jungle its self become evil in character. Marlow says that it affects his perspective, feelings and soul. It watches the men in their delicate tight rope dance of life. It waits to attack. The loss of optimism can be seen in the idea that the jungle watches them in their pointless temptation of death for "half a crown."

That's it for now. This book is a little harder to pull from than The Fountainhead. Its plot is simpler but I think more open to interpretation. Anyone want to add to the discussion of Heart of Darkness? Pretty weak entry here, just trying to get something going.