- “These round knobs were not ornamental but symbolic; they were expressive and puzzling, striking and disturbing … smiling continuously at some endless and jocose dream of that eternal slumber.” (p. 102)
Marlow is extremely mistaken as he thought that the heads on stakes were ornamental balls. Instead, this graphic description is an example of Kurtz’s extreme cruelty. It seems rather unusual that Marlow takes this so lightly and doesn’t seem surprised by Kurtz’s twisted acts. In a way, Conrad assures readers that this act is permissible with the humorous line he includes - “the shrunken dry lips showing a narrow white line of the teeth, was smiling, too, smiling continuously at some endless and jocose dream of that eternal slumber.” It seems obvious to readers that this act of violence is one Marlow shouldn’t be taking lightly.
(Photo Credit)
Thirty Days of Night. Photograph.
StateUnit. Web. 13 Sept. 2009. http://www.stateunit.co.nz/images/tdon_30_03_.jpg.
assures readers -- very nice
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