HOD 17-26 + sarcasm

Pages 17-26 detail Marlow's journey into the heart of darkness Africa. His journey is long and has a few interesting people, but it is not the main journey of the novel. All of the motifs, images, etc. that appeared in the previous pages appeared in full force in these. This section was particularly depressing... especially when he finds out his steamer sank and he has to spend months fishing out pieces so that the devil head guy in charge can make a profit. The other white guy on his journey is annoying, the accountant is corrupt and evil, and all of the natives are basically dead. I feel like this novel doesn't fit the stereotype of "all books are about one thing: 'who am I?'" Rather, it's about man, death, heaven, hell and the meaning of all of the evils. It's more meta than self-interested.

This section is also sarcastic. for example, his constant praise of the accountant and his characterization of his deals and book-keeping as perfect and honest clearly shows his disdain for the lying, corruption and exploitation of the ivory enterprise. Also, in the previous pages, he is more overtly sarcastic when he says things like "my excellent aunt" and "supernatural being." for an interpretation of the sarcasm see my previous post