The order that we have read these past two stories actually makes a lot of sense now because as i read on in Heart of Darkness I begin to see more and more relations to The Inferno and to Dante. The dark and gloom that we first experienced in the book as we read aloud in class, set the same tone and setting that was set in the beginning of The Inferno.
The dark forest that Conrad mentions directly relates to the dark woods in The Inferno. Marlow senses the darkness and gloom around him, and is also oblivious to what is going on around him, like Dante was in the beginning of the Inferno. The mistreatment of the slaves that Marlow encounters are like the sinners being punished in hell, (although they probably haven't done anything wrong) and somehow it doesn't seem to really spark interest, or affect Marlow as it did to Dante.
The Congo river that they travel down could also be related to the river Styx that they have to travel across to get to the other side of hell. Although that's probably not what it relates to I just thought river-- and there's a river in the Inferno soo. im done
Marlow hasn't had a voice yet when it comes to the issue of race and slavery, although he doesn't refer to them as humans, but rather "its". The trade company that he travels with though does have a voice against it as you can see they discriminate, and have hatred towards the other races in the dark woods.
Tyler, keep making those connections! I also am interested by what you say about Marlow's voice on the issue of his own opinion of imperialism and slavery. I would encourage you to be on the lookout for Conrad's/Marlow's tone as the book continues, and certainly irony!
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