In the same scene, Conrad uses character to show the foolishness of battling over material objects. The natives killed Fresleven. Being superstitious about killing a man in their village, the natives abandoned their home. It is silly to think one man lost his life, and many others lost his or her home over a pair of hens. Yet, it reflects the ways of man. "Mad terror had scattered them, men, woman, children, through the bush and they had never returned" (Conrad 9). Stubborn in the moment, and then perhaps regretful later, if the natives had known beforehand what these two hens would cause, the bet would be that they'd give away the hens for free with no problem. However, that is not how it played out. And man must learn from mistakes made.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
NRJ #1: Power/Control
In the novel Heart of Darkness, Conrad uses irony to warn of battling over material things. When Marlow first begins his journey, he meets a man named Fresleven, who was known to be a very gentle and calm tempered man. Later, Marlow hears that Fresleven was killed over a quarrel about two hens. Fresleven lost his life because of a misunderstanding having to do with only two hens. If Fresleven had known before he got to the natives that he would lose his life over something as simple as hens, it would be quite obvious to him what is more important. The hens? Or his life? Caught in the heat of the moment, Fresleven unwittingly chose the hens over his life. Irony is used especially well in these sort of situations because it shows just how silly some conflicts are. And in the end of this particular story the narrator says, "What became of the hens I don't know either. I should think the cause of progress got them, anyhow" (Conrad 9). Nobody won anything over this silly dispute, and the hens were assumed to have remained untouched by both sides.
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Good post Ashley!! I am actually having a hard time understadning this story fully and you provided some great insight. I like the irony side of the story. I remember the story of the two hens and you are right on. There were also other signs of irony and this is a theme that I am going to look into further. Great job.
ReplyDeleteThis is a hard one for me to post on too. I need to go back and the read the story again. I did liked how you mentioned they were fighting over material things and they need to learn from mistakes made. Your post lead me to understand the story a little better.
ReplyDeleteAshley,
ReplyDeleteGreat perspective! I remember reading the part about Fresleven, but didn't think about the irony in it. It is amazing what people fight about. I think that pride is a huge element here. Superstition is also an interesting topic in this part of the story. Excellent post!
The sad thing is that this seems to have happened a lot during the invasion and re-conquering of many less developed countries. I feel like this is a very eye-opening story. It may even be used to show how such a level-headed man could snap from the conditions that they are living in.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I enjoyed reading your point of view because I had not thought of that myself yet. It was interesting to hear what you had to say about the irony of the battle over material things! I also liked how you tied it into how man should learn from his own mistakes. I agree with what you said and I liked your perspective of things.
ReplyDelete