HoD Chap 2 (And so it begins... finally)

About time this book picks up on the action. I find the starting of this chapter really interesting. The discussion between the uncle and the manager reveals how everyone "loves" Kurtz on the outside, but they hate him from the inside due to his outlandish behaviors. The only example of the outlandish behavior is the response the manager gets from Kurtz when the manager sent him slave labor. Once again, the workers just seem to "suck up" to Kurtz just to gain a high position when he gets promoted. I find the whole conversation between the two as a conspiracy theory. They talk about hanging one of Kurtz's worker, the Russian guy, and they also mention how they hope that they climate will favor them and kill of Kurtz. Here is another representation of greed and corruption that takes root among the people working in Africa.

As I progressed through this chapter, Marlow emphasizes the appearance of the land. His use of diction and imagery are really powerful, this enabling him to force images into the readers mind as they read. These images consist of darkness, despair, fear, loneliness, and many other dark feelings. This negative characterization of the land sends chills up my back as I feel these emotions run through me. Conrad really knows how to use diction and imagery in order to grasp his reader’s attention and focus (which is good thing for this book).

One think that aggravates me about this book is the ending of the chapter. I dislike how Conrad leaves us in the dark as to why the natives love Kurtz. Throughout the second chapter, Kurtz has been represented as a pure evil guy as he is portrayed as a devil. Yet, the sudden inclusion of how the Native tribe loves Kurtz is a twist that I feel should have been answered in this chapter.