Passage Analysis Things Fall Apart

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Hari Kumar Things Fall Apart 2/6/17 Passage Analysis Test 3. The interaction seen between Marlow and the African native on page 46 feels different. In past interactions, we have seen Marlow portray the natives as prehistoric, primitive, and unearthly: “this suspicion of not being human…they howled and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces...ugly” (32). Marlow frequently dehumanizes the natives and makes them appear as savages. However, in this scene, he gives a more humanized description of the African than he normally would: “his eyes shown with an amazing luster…I had to make an effort to free my eyes from his gaze.” Marlow is captured by the death of this man and is unable to look away, and thus, he has a more sympathetic reaction. For …show more content…

In this book, only two women are seen, and they both share similarities and differences. The first, the Amazonian woman, is presumed to be Kurtz’s lover in the Congo. She is displayed as unflinching and fearless: “She carried her head high…she was savage and superb, wild-eyed and magnificent…something ominous and stately in her deliberate progress.” (60). The Amazonian immediately grasps the attention of Marlow and other men, showing her powerful and commanding nature. She embodies simplicity and nature, and her dark skin symbolizes the darkness that represents Africa. The other woman is the Intended, the woman Kurtz plans on marrying. Unlike the Amazonian woman, the Intended is shown to be fragile and timid: “she put out her arms, as if after a retreating figure” (76). The Intended represents virtue and seems to need protection from men, and is exhibited as more fearful and weak than the Amazonian. Unlike the “savage” African, the Intended is displayed as more cultured and has a “mature capacity for fidelity, for belief, for suffering,” which makes her more favorable. The only similarity that is shared between the two is that they are both caricatured, in that they both have a relation to Kurtz. They are both merely treated as objects in varying capacities, and are shown as having no mind or voice. Conrad tries to show the influence of Kurtz through these two women. With both women, we see Kurtz’s ability to use words to influence and control others. Through his

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