I am confused about page 106, when one of the listeners to Marlow's story growls "Try to be civil, Marlow."
I don't understand why this is the first time one of the listeners really says something. Marlow has mentioned dead people with bullets in their heads, but only after this passage he is asked to be civil. He points out his listeners "respective tight-ropes" and his own "monkey tricks," but this, it seems to me, shouldn't be as response-provoking as the rest of his story has been. Maybe it is because it attacks the actions of Marlow and his peers, while his whole story addresses the problems in the entire colonial enterprise. Maybe the listener doesn't care until Marlow's speech affects him directly.
I would agree with you when you say "maybe it is because he attacks the actions of Marlow and his peers... maybe the listener doesn't care until Marlow's speech affects him directly." To me reading this passage, it made sense that this would be the point where the unnamed listener interrupts to complain; it seemed that he heard the rest of the narrative up to that point as a story Marlow was telling, while he perceived this comment in question as an insult.
ReplyDeleteMaybe this is important because it shows the degree to which Europeans can passively accept the awful things that happen in Africa, only really caring when something affects them personally.
I agree with both Sarah and Ynez, the listeners of the tale don't really care that Marlow is talking, they are merely listening because they have nothing else to do. They are not required to listen, so they do not take kindly to a comment that could be construed as an insult towards them. What he said was not even extremely offensive, but Marlow is on the verge of being annoying.
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