Question

ТЕРМІНОВО!!/ СРОЧНО!!
ДАМ 50 Б!!

Heart of Darkness
“Black shapes crouched, lay, sat between the trees leaning against the trunks, clinging to the earth, half coming out, half effaced within the dim light, in all the attitudes of pain, abandonment, and despair. Another mine on the cliff went off, followed by a slight shudder of the soil under my feet. The work was going on. The work! And this was the place where some of the helpers had withdrawn to die.

“They were dying slowly—it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now—nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom. Brought from all the recesses of the coast in all the legality of time contracts, lost in uncongenial surroundings, fed on unfamiliar food, they sickened, became inefficient, and were then allowed to crawl away and rest. These moribund shapes were free as air—and nearly as thin. I began to distinguish the gleam of the eyes under the trees. Then, glancing down, I saw a face near my hand. The black bones reclined at full length with one shoulder against the tree, and slowly the eyelids rose and the sunken eyes looked up at me, enormous and vacant, a kind of blind, white flicker in the depths of the orbs, which died out slowly. The man seemed young—almost a boy—but you know with them it’s hard to tell. I found nothing else to do but to offer him one of my good Swede’s ship’s biscuits I had in my pocket. The fingers closed slowly on it and held—there was no other movement and no other glance. He had tied a bit of white worsted round his neck—Why? Where did he get it? Was it a badge—an ornament—a charm—a propitiatory act? Was there any idea at all connected with it? It looked startling round his black neck, this bit of white thread from beyond the seas.

“Near the same tree two more bundles of acute angles sat with their legs drawn up. One, with his chin propped on his knees, stared at nothing, in an intolerable and appalling manner: his brother phantom rested its forehead, as if overcome with a great weariness; and all about others were scattered in every pose of contorted collapse, as in some picture of a massacre or a pestilence. While I stood horror-struck, one of these creatures rose to his hands and knees, and went off on all-fours towards the river to drink. He lapped out of his hand, then sat up in the sunlight, crossing his shins in front of him, and after a time let his woolly head fall on his breastbone."

Give a detailed answer to each of the questions:

1. What did Marlow discover in the shade beneath the trees?

2. Where did these people originally come from? Why had they been brought to the station?

3. Why were they no longer working?

4. What did Marlow give to one of the men under the trees?

5. What was tied around the men's neck?

6. One of the men moved as Marlow was watching. How did he move? Where did he go? What did he do?

7. Find references to death and disease in the description of the native people.

8. Make a list of five expressions which describe the posture or movement of the blacks. Do any of the people Marlow observes stand up straight? What do their postures and movements suggest about their condition?

9. Find references in the text where Marlow refers to the black people as if they were not human.

10. One of the men Marlow observes has a woollen cloth from beyond the seas tied around his neck. What symbolic significance may this detail have?

11. Does Marlow openly denounce imperialism in the passage? In your opinion does he agree or disagree with the colonial exploitation of native people? Justify your answer by referring to the text. ​

Answer 1

1)Marlow discovers black shapes of dying men who are crouched, laying, or sitting between the trees in the shade. They are clinging to the earth and appear to be in pain, abandoned, and despair.

2)These people were brought from different parts of the coast and were under time contracts, working as helpers at the station. They were brought to work for the ivory trade and to help with the construction of the railway.

3)They were no longer working because they were sick and had become inefficient due to unfamiliar surroundings, food, and disease. They were allowed to rest and die slowly.

4) Marlow offers one of his ship's biscuits to a young man who seemed to be a boy. The man takes the biscuit but shows no other movement or glance.

5)One of the men has a bit of white worsted tied around his neck. Marlow questions whether it was a badge, ornament, charm, or propitiatory act and wonders where he got it.

6)One of the men rose to his hands and knees, went off on all fours towards the river to drink, lapped water from his hands, and then sat up in the sunlight, crossing his shins in front of him. He let his head fall on his breastbone and rested.

7)References to death and disease can be found throughout the description of the native people. Marlow describes them as dying slowly and becoming inefficient due to sickness and disease.

8)Five expressions that describe the posture or movement of the blacks include crouched, lay, sat, acute angles, and contorted collapse. None of the people Marlow observes stand up straight, and their postures and movements suggest that they are in extreme pain and suffering.

9)Marlow does refer to the black people as if they were not fully human when he describes them as "nothing earthly now—nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation" and "moribund shapes" that were "nearly as thin as air."

10)The woollen cloth from beyond the seas tied around the man's neck may symbolize his connection to a culture or place that is distant and unfamiliar to him. It may also represent a sense of identity or a connection to something that he values.

11)Marlow does not openly denounce imperialism in the passage, but his description of the native people and their suffering suggests that he disagrees with the colonial exploitation of native people. He questions the morality of the ivory trade and the treatment of the native people, and he shows empathy towards their suffering. For example, he describes the men as "not enemies, they were not criminals" and questions why they were left to die slowly. However, Marlow's own participation in the exploitation of the natives and his fascination with Kurtz suggests that he is not entirely opposed to colonialism