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In these passages, Marlow discusses how he has witnessed many evils—characterized by the “devil of violence…the devil of greed…the devil of hot desire…strong lusty, red-eyed devils that swayed and drove men—men, I tell you” (17); however, the evils epitomized by imperialism, Marlow portrays as “flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil of rapacious and pitiless folly”. The first “devils” exhibit an active malevolence, emphasized by the words, “strong,” “lusty,” “red-eyed” and “drove men.” In contrast, Marlow terms the devil he sees in Africa as weak, and relatively passive. The adjective, “flabby,” signifies one who lacks strength or determination; “pretending” signifies hypocrisy and concealment of actual motives. This portrayal of the weak devil accurately illustrates the nature of the white man’s work in Africa. The hole, which Marlow almost falls into, originates from the white man’s “philanthropic desire of the criminals something to do.” The use of “philanthropic” to describe the white man’s oppression of the Africans suggests extreme hypocrisy by this weak “devil.” The adjective “flabby” accurately describes how this devil’s lack of strength contributes to strange method of repression by making them dig holes. Though Marlow employs sarcasm to condemn the practice of these weak devils, he nevertheless exhibits significant hesitation in confirming his feelings. His reluctance is manifested through the sentence “I don’t know,” decisively placed after his condemnation of the evils. The juxtaposition of condemnation and hesitation significantly detracts from the intensity of Marlow’s accusation.
Emilie (just me)- In this passage, Marlow discusses his opinion of "real devils," that promote "real evils," such as the "devil of violence," "devil of greed," and "Devil of hot desire." He reveals that these beasts have haunted grown men, and then uses repetition to emphasize how shocking it is that they can control men. AFter describing the horrors that these devils have caused, Marlow goes on to reveal he will soon encounter a "flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil of a rapacious and pitiless folly." This type of devil relates to the quote on page 7: "your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others." This type of devil is not a "true evil," and yet it seems even more menacing in the fact that it has committed a "rapacious and pitiless folly," showing that it is power-hungry, merciless, and "lives on prey." This type of devil could also be a metaphor for the European imperialists invading the Congo, because they are only men, but have become something much worse with the accumulation of unnecessary but plentiful power. Marlow also describes him as "insidious," showing how this type of devil will creep up on him without his knowing, and lead to his ultimate demise. Moments later, Marlow encounters a giant man-made hole. It is described as having "a purpose of which I found impossible to divine," and "connected with the philanthropic desire of giving the criminals something to do." This seemingly random encounter after Marlow's foresight of a devil further emphasizes how imperialists have arrived in the Congo to boss around those that are weaker, and ultimately achieve nothing, or achieve something completely worthless. Since the hole is described as being "philanthropic," for criminals, it shows how depressing and lonesome the criminals must be, if their only pastime is digging holes, similar to digging their own graves. Also, since digging a hole is a largely unproductive and useless thing to do, it shows how so many people are putting all of their time and effort into a single worthless task, yet are under the illusion that they are being productive. This also relates to the European imperialists that found it their "responsibility" to give all natives a task, or the need to be "tamed" and colonized, yet as a whole the effort was wasted and more destructive than helpful.
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Danni, Michelle, Clare
In these passages, Marlow discusses how he has witnessed many evils—characterized by the “devil of violence…the devil of greed…the devil of hot desire…strong lusty, red-eyed devils that swayed and drove men—men, I tell you” (17); however, the evils epitomized by imperialism, Marlow portrays as “flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil of rapacious and pitiless folly”. The first “devils” exhibit an active malevolence, emphasized by the words, “strong,” “lusty,” “red-eyed” and “drove men.” In contrast, Marlow terms the devil he sees in Africa as weak, and relatively passive. The adjective, “flabby,” signifies one who lacks strength or determination; “pretending” signifies hypocrisy and concealment of actual motives. This portrayal of the weak devil accurately illustrates the nature of the white man’s work in Africa. The hole, which Marlow almost falls into, originates from the white man’s “philanthropic desire of the criminals something to do.” The use of “philanthropic” to describe the white man’s oppression of the Africans suggests extreme hypocrisy by this weak “devil.” The adjective “flabby” accurately describes how this devil’s lack of strength contributes to strange method of repression by making them dig holes. Though Marlow employs sarcasm to condemn the practice of these weak devils, he nevertheless exhibits significant hesitation in confirming his feelings. His reluctance is manifested through the sentence “I don’t know,” decisively placed after his condemnation of the evils. The juxtaposition of condemnation and hesitation significantly detracts from the intensity of Marlow’s accusation.
Emilie (just me)-
In this passage, Marlow discusses his opinion of "real devils," that promote "real evils," such as the "devil of violence," "devil of greed," and "Devil of hot desire." He reveals that these beasts have haunted grown men, and then uses repetition to emphasize how shocking it is that they can control men. AFter describing the horrors that these devils have caused, Marlow goes on to reveal he will soon encounter a "flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil of a rapacious and pitiless folly." This type of devil relates to the quote on page 7: "your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others." This type of devil is not a "true evil," and yet it seems even more menacing in the fact that it has committed a "rapacious and pitiless folly," showing that it is power-hungry, merciless, and "lives on prey." This type of devil could also be a metaphor for the European imperialists invading the Congo, because they are only men, but have become something much worse with the accumulation of unnecessary but plentiful power. Marlow also describes him as "insidious," showing how this type of devil will creep up on him without his knowing, and lead to his ultimate demise.
Moments later, Marlow encounters a giant man-made hole. It is described as having "a purpose of which I found impossible to divine," and "connected with the philanthropic desire of giving the criminals something to do." This seemingly random encounter after Marlow's foresight of a devil further emphasizes how imperialists have arrived in the Congo to boss around those that are weaker, and ultimately achieve nothing, or achieve something completely worthless. Since the hole is described as being "philanthropic," for criminals, it shows how depressing and lonesome the criminals must be, if their only pastime is digging holes, similar to digging their own graves. Also, since digging a hole is a largely unproductive and useless thing to do, it shows how so many people are putting all of their time and effort into a single worthless task, yet are under the illusion that they are being productive. This also relates to the European imperialists that found it their "responsibility" to give all natives a task, or the need to be "tamed" and colonized, yet as a whole the effort was wasted and more destructive than helpful.
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