Tug of War

As I have progressed through part one of the Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, I have had mixed feelings about Marlow. Right away I got the impression that he is an annoying guy that always wants to tell some obscure story at the wrong time and place. The initial narrator certainly agrees, as he states, "...to hear about one of Marlow's inconclusive experiences" (9). I also got a negative impression of him when he talked about the greatness of British imperialism. Watching the documentary about Congo's brutal history was tough. The explicit images and reenactments made me look down for moments at a time. My ears however, were constantly attuned to the narration of the video. I believe vicious exploitation in the past and the modern day equivalents are worth facing and reflecting upon, no matter how tough or uncomfortable. 

As part one progresses I have noticed a Tug-of War between "Marlow now" and "potential Marlow post transformation or gain in perspective". Conrad, or perhaps Marlow himself, explicitly and implicitly lays out the sides. A major explicit example of the possibility of a "new Marlow" comes from the conversation he had with the doctor. When the doctor measures Marlow's skull before the trip and Marlow asks if he sees people when they come back from trips the doctor says, "Oh I never see them,...and moreover, the changes take place inside, you know" (16). Another example on the side of Marlow's impending transformation in the Tug of War is when he reflects, "...I felt as though, instead of going to the centre of a continent, I were about to set off for the centre of the earth" (18). I think this suggests that his journey is going to be metaphorically bigger than what he planned. 

Nevertheless, Marlow's racist words and attitudes make the side of "Marlow now" in the Tug-of-War seem the shoe-in winner. In general Marlow is a racist who often uses his internal racial hierarchy to make himself feel better. For example, at the beginning of his trip on the boat he felt isolated, out of touch with the truth, and delusional, until a boat paddled by two black men appeared. He said, "They were a great comfort to look at. For a time I would feel I belonged still to a world of straightforward facts" (19). I inferred that he made himself feel better by thinking along the lines of man, this journey kind of sucks right now, but at least I'm still better off than those black men over there, the world makes sense again.

I don't know how Marlow is going to turn out, but I hope it's for the better soon. Even so, I don't believe there will be a  "winner" in the Tug of War I described. Imperialism and the superiority complex that often accompanies it is a complex topic, so the book and the characters enacting the issue is not the end all be all solution. I think one purpose of the text is to get the issue front and center. 

What do you think of Marlow or imperialism in general? Is one character's possible transformation hope?