Heart of Darkness Pt. 2

This story starts off with Marlow overhearing the manager and his uncle discussing Kurtz and his antics. They feel that what Kurtz truly wants is to turn the stations into the centers of civilization as well as taking charge. The conversation turns to a trader that the manager is worried about. He doesn't trust him. His uncle tells him to just hang him and be done with it, as well as implying that Kurtz could possibly die due to environmental conditions such as the heat, precipitation and the illnesses that come with it. Marlow reveals himself and startles the pair. The manager's uncle then leaves with his expedition. We now discover that Marlow's ship is nearly fixed and he starts making preparations for the treacherous travel up the river to Kurtz. On their way up they spot a pile of firewood and when they investigate the manager decides that it was a Russian trader who left it. The steamer ends up close to the station and Marlow wants to continue on but the manager tells him how dangerous these waters are and Marlow decides against it. They are suddenly immersed in fog hear voices surrounding them. They open fire on the surrounding voices and the helmsman is stuck with a spear.

This section of the book is definitely much more action packed and a quicker read. By incorporating the fight scene as well as the conspiracy between manager and his father, we are actually wanting to find out what happens next. Also, I felt that we got to know Marlow's character and attitude much better. At the end of the section I thought that Marlow wasn't actually taking the situation seriously when he asked for new socks, etc. It showed that maybe his mind wasn't in the right place.