Tuesday, August 26, 2008

The Dying Native

The Dying Native

“He had 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?” (pg. 17)

The white worsted Marlow speaks of is a piece of yarn but there seems to be no real explanation for why the native is wearing the yarn around his neck. What is truly interesting about his passage is why Marlow is so interested by why he is wearing the yarn around his neck. Marlow knows absolutely nothing about this man who is dying at his feet, but he stops to ponder (almost at length) why he is wearing a piece of yarn around his neck. Marlow seems horrified by the death around him but does little more than offering a biscuit he had in his pants, knowing that there is nothing he can do. Throughout the novella, Marlow is seen as apathetic at times but he always deeply introspective. Marlow is a laborer by trade but a thinker by nature.

1 comment:

Xwing212 said...

nice observation about the man