Then there's the story of Marlow's predecessor Fresleven, a gentle, quiet man who goes on a wild rampage, and the office of the Company with the two women knitting black wool like the fates. ... There was a touch of insanity in the proceeding, a sense of lugubrious drollery in the sight; and it was not dissipated by somebody on board assuring me earnestly there was a camp of natives - he called them enemies! ... He so disillusioned and disappointed by his fellow Europeans that he calls their exploit a "lugubrious drollery-. ... His responses aren't extraordinarily moral, just no...

• Word Count: 4081
• Approx Pages: 16
• Grade Level: High School

Illusions of the Mind "People only see what they are prepared to see." In the novel, Heart of Darkness, the Europeans witness a life unlike any they have ever seen. They must face a harsh reality, which challenges their restraints on society and work. They are put to the test with their values...

• Word Count: 2429
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

Heart of Darkness opens on a boat called "Nellie." ... Conrad also illustrates Marlow's growing empathy for the men he once called "savages" during a scene in which a band of followers sent by Kurtz attacks the steamboat with flying spears. ... According to Marlow, Kurtz has been overtaken by the wild darkness. ...

• Word Count: 4309
• Approx Pages: 17
• Grade Level: High School