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1. What is the genre?
Global—Horror > Ambiguous (NOTE: The value at stake for a Horror story is Life/Death with the possibility of Damnation or Fate Worse than Death. Although Marlow’s life is in danger at many points in the story, it is this Damnation that is the main focus.)
Secondary—Worldview > Disillusionment
2. What are the conventions and obligatory scenes for the genre?
Conventions
The monster can’t be reasoned with. It is possessed by the spirit of Evil and is present to devour and annihilate: Kurtz’s powers are his high intelligence and his charisma. There is no talking to him; he does the talking – and the convincing. The underlying “Monster from the Id” is all Will and Desire, with no conscience.
Conventional settings within fantastical worlds: Marlow commands a riverboat, a fairly commonplace vehicle, but set in the unfamiliar and formidable jungles of the Congo.
The protagonist is unable to escape due their isolated location or situation. Mrs. Dudley explicitly warns the inhabitants of Hill House that she leaves before dark and that nobody will be able to help them if they call out, “in the dark, in the night.” Dr. Montague warns the group that people who have tried to leave the house at night have met with untimely death.
Labyrinths. Settings are claustrophobic, concealing the dangers within: The story is set out in the open, but the winding river, enclosed by thick jungle, is its own labyrinth, concealing dangers that can lie around every bend.
Perpetual discomfort. Conceal the monster, attack randomly, never let the audience settle: Though Kurtz is the ultimate embodiment of the Monster, the one completely possessed by it, we see it peeking out in the greed and callousness of others along the way. The conniving, the indifference to misery, the arbitrary killing – these all steadily build our discomfort as Marlow proceeds on his journey.
Mask the power of the monster. Progressively reveal more and more levels of power:
The Monster – not just it’s main avatar in Kurtz — at first shows up as something that evokes an uneasy feeling in Marlow at his job interview.
On his way to the mouth of the Congo, Marlow passes a man of war “firing into a continent,” and remarks that “There was a touch of insanity in the proceeding”. Later, he says of the entire voyage, “It was like a weary pilgrimage amongst hints for nightmares.”
At the Base Station we see how natives are left to die outside while the Station itself is in disorder, and no one cares.He “foresaw that in the blinding sunshine of that land I would become acquainted with a flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil of a rapacious and pitiless folly.”
Upon reaching the Central Station, Marlow observes “the first glance at the place was enough to let you see the flabby devil was running that show.” The station manager “was obeyed, yet he inspired neither love nor fear, nor even respect. He inspired uneasiness.[…] You have no idea how effective such a … a … faculty can be.”
Finally, at the Inner Station, we see the results of Kurtz’s (dark) apotheosis into an avatar of the Monster.
Sadomasochistic flip-flop. Let the reader experience the power of the monster while empathizing with the victims: Certainly, we empathize with the victims, but we are also aware, not just intellectually, but viscerally, that the Darkness is within us too.
Keep the monster off-screen for as long as possible: Although we hear a lot about Kurtz, we don’t actually see him until ¾ of the way into the story. And, of course, the true monster, of which Kurtz is only an avatar is invisible.
Have the audience experience the horrific at a remove: We see that Kurtz has posted the heads of “rebels” on his gates, but there is no scene of beheading. Marlow speaks of Kurtz presiding over “unspeakable rites”, but leaves the specifics to our imagination.
Obligatory Scenes
The protagonist or first victim starts a new job or assignment that seems normal at first: Marlow takes a job commanding a steamboat up the Congo River. (NOTE: This is not on the “official” list, but there are many examples: Jonathan Harker in Dracula; Jack Torrance in The Shining; the camp counselors in Friday the Thirteenth; John Finnegan in Deep Rising; the crew of the Nostromo in Alien; Dutch’s band of mercenaries in Predator.)
The first subtle cue that something is “off”: Marlow describes his first contact with the Company as follows: “I began to feel slightly uneasy. You know I am not used to such ceremonies, and there was something ominous in the atmosphere. It was just as though I had been let into some conspiracy—I don’t know-something not quite right; and I was glad to get out.” (NOTE: This is an alternative to the “Monster kills or physically injures someone” scene, and tends to show up in haunting and/or possession stories: the door that opens or closes by itself; temperature too hot or too cold for no reason; the discarded object that keeps reappearing; the off-putting message; the character who starts to act just a little “out of character”.)
Speech in Praise of the Monster: A number of people praise Kurtz’s abilities, e.g., the Brickmaker of the Central Station, Kurtz’s Russian companion. But it is Marlow himself who explains to his companions onboard the Nellie the power of Kurtz’s intelligence and his charisma, and how he came to be wholly possessed by Darkness.
Protagonist at the mercy of the monster:When Kurtz escapes from the steamboat and tries to return to the jungle, Marlow follows him. Kurtz’s power is not physical at this point; it is the power to command his followers, and, given time, to convert anyone to be his follower – or worshipper. This is Marlow’s danger.
The protagonist becomes the final victim after a series of “kill-off” scenes of minor characters. Marlow does fall victim, in part, to Kurtz’s charisma. He tells his companions that Kurtz “had conquered one soul [Marlow himself] in the world that was neither rudimentary nor tainted with self-seeking”
The true Monster is the Darkness, the “Monster from the Id”, of which Kurtz is only the examplar, and Marlow is in danger from that as well: “I had turned to the wilderness really, not to Mr. Kurtz, who, I was ready to admit, was as good as buried. And for a moment it seemed to me as if I also were buried in a vast grave full of unspeakable secrets. I felt an intolerable weight oppressing my breast, the smell of the damp earth, the unseen presence of victorious corruption, the darkness of an impenetrable night”
(NOTE: This is usually the case when the monster is sui generis. If a “mad scientist” created the monster, then the scientist is usually the final victim before the protagonist(s) make their escape. Ditto for the “greedy businessman” (or woman) that facilitated the monster’s rampage. In these cases, poetic justice is served.)
False Ending: The ending would seem to be when the manager’s servant announces, “Mistah Kurtz – he dead.” The Monster is dead. Marlow tells us that he nearly died himself from the same physical illness that claimed Kurtz, but that wrestling with death is trivial. He says: “I did not go to join Kurtz [in the grave] there and then. I did not. I remained to dream the nightmare out to the end, and to show my loyalty to Kurtz once more. Destiny.”
Learn more about obligatory scenes and conventions.
3. What is the point of view and narrative device?
The Narrative Device is as follows: an unnamed narrator begins the story where he and a number of friends are on a boat waiting on the Thames for the tide to turn. While they wait, Charlie Marlow tells the story of an experience he had. The bulk of the novella is Marlow telling his tale. Both the unnamed narrator and Marlow use the 1st person.
A more subtle device is the omission of the names of all the characters except three: Charlie Marlow; Marlow’s predecessor, named Fresleven; Mr. Kurtz. All other characters are referred to by some function they perform or a relationship they have with one of those three.
Learn more about point of view.
4. What are the objects of desire?
External/Conscious—To do his job and retrieve Kurtz
Internal/Sub-Conscious— To keep the Darkness outside
Learn more about objects of desire.
5. What is the controlling idea / theme?
In the absence of social norms, a person with high ideals and intelligence, but lacking strength of character, may indulge their primal urges, leading to their ultimate ruin. (Expressing it in Freudian terms: when the strictures of the Superego are removed, the “monsters from the Id” will be set free, unless the character’s Ego is strong enough to contain them.)
Learn more about controlling ideas.
6. What is the beginning hook, middle build and ending payoff?
Beginning Hook: Charlie Marlow is mesmerized by a map displaying the Congo River and, after some setbacks, obtains a job commanding a riverboat for a Belgian ivory company on a mission to rescue a station agent who has fallen ill.
Middle Build: After making his way down the coast of Africa, Marlow travels up the Congo, stopping first at the Company’s Base and Central Stations, and finally arriving at Kurtz’s Inner Station.
Ending Payoff: Marlow retrieves Kurtz, who dies on the trip downriver, leaving Marlow to deal with his papers and console his fiancé
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