Heart+of+Darkness+-+the+plot+part+I

= //Heart of Darkness//: the plot =

Ok, guys, here is where we'll add details about the plot. I recommend that we add a bullet point per page or so until we have a large list of key events.

Kindle pages (Emma, Andreas and Henri 12/9/11):
 * The Story Opens with an unnamed narrator talking about the River Thames in London. The unnamed narrator talks about Charlie Marlow. Marlow has taken a job as captain of a steamboat going to Africa. Many of the crew dislike him as they dont trust him. The crew talk about a man named Kurtz, known for his knowledge in ivory.
 * The story is told by an unnamed narrator that is on board the boat with Marlow, the Accountant, and the Lawyer. Charlie Marlow starts to tell his stories and the overall plot starts from that point.
 * Heart of Darkness is begun with a description of the ship and the are that it is in and then the people aboard her. the men aboard the ship erin to recount the days they had spent on other ships and the dreams they had. the talk turns to roman soldiers and the hardships they must have faced living so far from their comforts. Marlow is then reminded of his past adventure as a captain of a ship that sailed for belgium up the river thames.
 * The story opens with an introduction to the Nellie and her crew. Marlow enjoys narrating his own experiences on the seas and what drove him to become a seaman when he was a little boy.
 * ==== The narrator is on a boat with another 4 people. Between these there is Marlow who talks to them about the colonialists and his childhood memories. ====
 * in-depth description of setting/ ship
 * sets the ship as a focus point
 * characters are introduced the men are bound by "the bond of the sea".
 * the director of companies (captain)
 * lawyer
 * accountant
 * marrow
 * unnamed narrator
 * showing that the men enter the book in a gloomy, meditative state by describing the setting and the dawning of the evening
 * the river is brought in and personified
 * describes the port and the sets of actions and men within it
 * first dialogue spoken by Marlow:
 * "and this also has been one of the dark place of the earth"
 * everyone remained in a comfortable meditative silence, enveloped in their thoughts
 * Marlow talks about the Romans, weighing their skills against their actions
 * Marlow continues to talk about the Romans, mentioning their perseverance and their savagery
 * Marlow speaks negatively of of the conquerors and "civilizers" as continues to "preach" to the men aboard.
 * he recounts his childhood ambition to be a sailor and explore the blank parts of the map
 * He recounts how when he grows up he decides to use his new sailing skills to travel to this part of the map he'd always wanted to go to
 * He struggles in getting the right connections to go on this trip but eventually finds the means to do so in his Aunt
 * He gets an appointment 'on the continent' for a job interview to replace a captain who had been killed by some natives in the jungle
 * His appointment with his employer begins to put worries into Marlow's as they're strange behaviour causes him to think: "...i had been led into some conspiracy." location 140-6 (9%) //Kindle Gutenberg Project Ebook edition//
 * He takes a visit to the doctor where he's told of the company's awesomeness, yet is again worried by the doctors desire not to go to Africa and by a curious 'measuring of his crania'.
 * He captains a steamship to Congo, a journey in which he encounters many different and unusual event while stopping to deliver messages and to land soldiers and customhouse officers.
 * He later boards on another ship, whose captain is a Swede, and travels upriver.
 * The Swede captain tells Marlow about another Swede that hung himself.
 * He later embarks upon dying native laborers and offers one of them a biscuit.
 * Marlow grows curious upon seeing the necklace made of European thread around the native-man's neck
 * Marlow tells his crew-mates about his fulfilled dreamt to visit the blank spaces on the map.
 * Marlow recalls when he was a captain on a river steamboat on the river.
 * We learn that Marlow speaks, spoke a fair amount of french and that when he applied for the job as steam boat captain there was only a short interview required and no physical required
 * We learn that Marlow's first job was to go and find the old captain of the river boat and bring him back
 * Marlow found some Congolese strung up in a tree
 * As he went up the hill Marlow encountered 6 black men, all chained together.
 * He then saw a white guy in a uniform who was looking over them.
 * Marlow decided he would let the chain gang get out of sight before he climbed the hill.
 * Marlow meets the company's chief accountant; an elegant man
 * the chief accountant introduces Mr. Kurtz
 * Marlow leaves the station with a caravan of 60 men
 * Marlow saw dead bodies lying on the paths as the caravan progressed
 * The caravan is exhausting; Marlow's white companion got fever and often fainted
 * After 15 days they made it to the Central Station and sees the caravan has been submerged.
 * The general manager of the Central Station had taken the boat out but had torn the bottom of the boat causing it to sink.
 * Marlow believes that the boat sinking was on purpose - sabotaged- to stop him getting to Kurtz.
 * Marlow meets the general manager of the Central Station who says he is an average man and only has power over his resistance in plants.
 * The general manager tells Marlow that he took the boat to help the lower stations. The General Manager calls Kurtz an exceptional agent and that he is known around the entire country.
 * Boat captain [|boat captain]


 * Ok, so here is the improved plot for part 1 by Samira
 * The book starts off with the narrator and the rest of the people on board the Nellie, which is upon the Thames.
 * Conrad is describing the the scenery of the town of Gravesend to be quite dark and gloomy, as the four of them sail down the river, with the captain being described at nautical and pilot-like.
 * The four members aboard are the lawyer, the accountant, Marlow and finally the director. The four of them were supposed to have a game of dominoes however, eventually didn't end up playing due their eagerness to absorb their surroundings.
 * There is then more description of the boat, considering it to be quite calm and gloomy towards the end of the day and also talks about the history of the Thames and those who sailed along it.
 * They reach a lighthouse which Marlow considers it to be, "...one of the dark places of the earth." The narrator considers Marlow to be a seaman as well as a wanderer.
 * The narrator is yet again describing Marlow, making him out to have a certain qualities that most people don't have however, he is still quite predictable
 * The invasion of the Romans of the Thames is being described and then the congo sea is introduced, being compared to lead darkness, fogginess and even death. Also, this page describes the environment around, the trees, bushes and the congo river itself.
 * Marlow then gives a brief history of his life, about the seas he has sailed, about when he was a child and his initial ambitions. Also, he talsk about how he was promoted to the Company.
 * The river is then compared to a snake by Marlow.
 * Talks about how the person who Marlow had takes over's death and the reason for his death. (Freseleven)
 * Also, how the people reacted to Fresleven's death and why it is significant.
 * Description of the two women sitting in the office in which Marlow was waiting in order to apply for his current job. Marlow then has his appointment with the doctor, who he seems to have large disagreements with and even feels irritated by him.
 * The books then goes back from the flashback into present times, and shows Marlow setting on his journey again. He then takes a boat, with the captain being swede, to the port of which he will reside there in Congo.
 * As Marlow arrives, he notices the Africans, as well as their treatment, as he sees them walking together, chained and also experiences the horrific lifestyles of the Africans, as well as their states which are mostly fatal.
 * Marlow then has a brief moment with the Chiefs accountant, and seems to be fasinated by him. The CA then tells Marlow about Mr Kurtz.
 * Marlow then describes the central station and then has an interview with the manager.