Explanation: “Going up that river was like travelling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation rioted on the earth, and the big trees were kings.”
Exp. This extract has been selected for explanation from Heart of Darkness, a short novel by Joseph Conrad. Here, Marlow narrates his experience of the up-river journey from the Central Station to the Inner Station aboard his steamer.
After long and arduous labour, Marlow manages to put the steamer into working condition and sets out for Kurtz’s station, known as the Inner Station. He is quite excited by the prospect of meeting Mr. Kurtz. When he begins the journey, he is overawed by the primeval appearance of the forest growing along the banks of the Congo River. Sailing along this river feels like travelling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation grew in wild abundance, and the big trees were the kings of the jungle.
The forest along the river is so dense as to be almost impenetrable. The air is warm and sluggish. Sailors on a boat may lose their way on such a river just as travellers may lose their way in a desert, because there are several channels winding past numerous islands, and a helmsman cannot easily determine which channel is the correct one. To Marlow, it seems that during this journey, he is penetrating deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness.
This physical journey through the Congo River appears to Marlow to be a symbolic and spiritual journey into the subconscious state of the human psyche.
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