RIASSUNTI CAPITOLI DEL LIBRO HEART OF DARKNESS, Appunti di Inglese

Scarica RIASSUNTI CAPITOLI DEL LIBRO HEART OF DARKNESS e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! Heart of darkness Summary Chapter 1 In the evening, a yawl called Nellie was anchored in the Thames, and London was behind. In this yawl was a captain that was a company director, and the others were people who shared a passion for the sea. Marlow, a professional sailor of Nellie, said that London was a dark place (compared to Africa, the dark con@nent in Victorian England). He liked telling stories, but in contrast to the others, his tales describe exci@ng events, and he tried to understand the people. He told the story of the Roman conquest, saying that conquest is an ugly thing. Then, he said that when he was in England, he wanted to go to Africa, explore the river and find a job with a con@nental company, a trading business. He did it thanks to his aunt, but before he went to the company doctor for a medical examina@on: he wanted to know something about his family and measure his head. Finally, he gave him some odd advice, like to don't leNng himself become angry, and went to thank his aunt. Chapter 2 Marlow said that when they sailed for Africa in a French streamer, they saw a coast and a jungle and sailed away. He came on the river and saw the first company trading post, which was a depressing place because African prisoners worked there, @ed together with chains and ill. Looking around and listening to the river, he heard two explosions. He saw black bodies of company workers on the ground, ill and dying alone. He walked to the company and saw a white man smartly dressed, the accountant, and started to talk. The man told him about his journey, where some carriers died. They reached the central sta@on and met a man who said to speak to the manager. He didn't make Marlow a good impression: he was a stupid and insensi@ve man because when others died he took over their jobs. When they talk, the manager asked him a ques@on (how long it would take to repair the streamer), and Marlow answered irritably. Chapter 3 APer his ques@on, Marlow began work on the streamer listening to the word ivory, a word that caused excitement. One evening there was a fire at the sta@on and the manager, who was there, recommended Kurtz (a man) to take advantage of it. With the manager, there was also an agent. He spoke with Marlow and invited him to come to his room for a drink. They talked about Kurtz and the company. The manager wrongly thought Marlow knew him, but he didn't, so he let him think that he was an important man. Marlow asked him about the rivers, which were essen@al for repea@ng the streamer, and thought that the manager would have ordered them for him, but he didn't, so they started to talk about animals. Chapter 4 He went back on board the streamer and talked to the boiler-maker about the rivets, which should have arrived in three weeks. Instead of them came groups of men at the sta@on, conducted by a white man. They wanted ivory and money. One of these people, who Marlow named 'pilgrims' ironically, was the sta@on manager's uncle. He talked with the manager complaining about the ivory, and the fact that Mr. Kurtz sent an ill clerk to deliver that. Marlow thought that Mr. Kurtz's ideas changed and weren't stronger than before. About his nephew, he said that he'll outlast Mr. Kurtz because the manager never got ill. Finally, with a deep sigh, the uncle said "Trust the climate" to his nephew. (Why????) A few days later they disappeared into the jungle, and the rivets arrived. Chapter 5 Once the steamer was ready, Marlow began his two-month journey to the inner sta@on. There were islands of sand, and it was dangerous, so the cannibals worked hard without ea@ng each other. Also, the manager and some pilgrims were on board. They heard the sound of drums in the interior, or they saw black people dancing and shou@ng. That was a huge primi@ve and unknowing world, but the people were like them. When the boat was about fiPy miles away from its des@na@on, they saw a hut, where they found a strange message: it was a signature. Marlow also found an old book on seamanship in the hut, which had noted in code wriWen in it. The next aPernoon they were about eight miles from Kurtz's sta@on. When they arrive at the point he heard hundreds of voices shrieking terribly. Chapter 6 There was fog, they couldn't see anything, and only white men were frightened by that. The manager was worried about Mr. Kurtz and what would have happened to him. Then, Marlow spoke to everyone on the steamer and said that the na@ves weren't aggressive. When the fog liPed, they set off again up the river, and then Marlow decided to go on leP. When they were at the riverbank, a sailor steered the steamer, and a na@ve pole-man leP the wooden pole in the water. Marlow, looking away at the river, saw lots of liWle s@cks flying: these were arrows. Someone was aWacking them, and Marlow saw a dark face hidden in the trees. The pilgrims began to shoot into the jungle, and the helmsman used a rifle. But then, the helmsman was hit and fell at Marlow's feet. So, Marlow grabbed the wheel, reached for the line of the steam whistle, and pulled it hard to make some noise. The na@ves stopped shou@ng and started to cry out sadly. Marlow thought Mr. Kurtz was dead, but he was sad about it because he wanted to know his ideas. Chapter 7 Marlow was wrong because he heard Kurtz speak. He lived in the jungle, which consumed him. Everything was his: the ivory, the girl, the sta@on. Marlow told the men that they couldn't understand and imagine what solitude was like; Kurtz had no support and had to rely on himself. He spoke to Marlow, who knew Kurtz had wriWen a book and read it. The book told about a white man who must seem like a god to the na@ves. At the end of his document, there was a single sentence: "Kill all the brutes!" but we know that he failed. Marlow took the steamer towards the sta@on and saw a building standing on the top of a hill. He saw a white man on the riverbank, with a Russian accent. The strange came on the board: he was the same man who wrote notes in code (which was Russian). When they were talking, the man said to Marlow that he was a sailor and wanted to become a trader, and began to trade in ivory. Then he met Mr. Kurtz and said that he enlarged his mind. Chapter 8 Marlow looked at the man in astonishment and talked about Mr. Kurtz, who disappeared into the jungle with the tribe. Marlow didn't have a good impression of him, and the man's words didn't change his mind. Indeed, he said that Mr. Kurtz wanted to shoot him once if he didn't give him the ivory. But Kurtz needed him because he was ill. While the man was talking, Marlow looked around and saw human skulls turned towards Kurtz's house. The man was embarrassed and said that he didn't dare to take them down: Marlow was shocked and seemed angry, but the man con@nued to say that Kurtz was a wonderful man with great ideas. Chapter 9 Near the house, there was a group of men carrying a stretcher. A vast number of naked black figures came out of the darkness and run toward the stretcher with shields. When the figure on the stretcher raised his arm and gave orders, the black na@ves disappeared into the forest. When Marlow returned to the cabin, he looked at the riverbank and saw two na@ves and a beau@ful woman. She was savage, superb, and magnificent and came to the steamer. The manager said that Kurtz was very ill. The Russian and Marlow started to talk about friends, and then he told him that Kurtz organized the aWack on the steamer. In the night Kurtz was not in the cabin because he leP the steamer. Marlow followed his marks and saw him, but this one said to him to hide. They talked and Kurtz said that the manager was doing everything wrong thinking he had power. Finally, Marlow carried him back to the steamer.