The Character of Marlow in the Heart of Darkness Examining the detailed descriptions of Conrad's Heart of Darkness provides tremendous insight into the character of Marlow. Conrad's words describe Marlow's personality as selfish and stable. Marlow can be an incredibly selfish character. You have to wonder if that was his conscious attempt to stay sane or if that was really how he interacted. While at the Outer Station, Marlow observed a group of Africans chained together, he had no compassion for these men, he simply observed them. After they passed, Marlow, without thinking, slipped into the shadows and was greeted by a group of starving Africans dying in the darkness of the trees. In this particular moment, the reader gets a glimpse of Marlow's compassionate side. We can say that Marlow is disturbed or distracted by the scene. He even tries to help one of the Africans by giving him a portion of bread. As soon as Marlow emerged from the shadows, the image was lost. He didn't think about it anymore and just continued up the hill. A reader would hope that a companion character would stop and think about what could be done for these people, or at least what type of society would allow this type of treatment. Marlow doesn't think about people who are hungry or suffering, which is his way of keeping his mind stable. By not thinking about these people, Marlow does not have to question what he is doing in Africa or what he “should” be doing by popular standards. Marlow doesn't care what he "should" do. Marlow just wants to discover the empty places on the map on his personal journey. Marlow uses natural distractions to avoid escaping. He doesn't seem too interested in the human aspects...... middle of paper ......ation Marlow resisted the effects of the river. Marlow was always a step away from the stage; he was in his own world. By using detailed descriptions of the natural world surrounding Marlow, Conrad could draw the reader into Marlow's world. He could thus show more clearly how he used nature to cope with his journey into the heart of darkness.Works CitedConrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: WW Norton and Company, 1988. Garner, Richard. The experience of philosophy. Ed. Daniel Kolak, Raymond Martin. Belmont California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1996. Hakluyt, Richard. Travel and discoveries. Ed. Jack Beeching. New York: Penguin, 1972. Purdy, Dwight H. The Joseph Conrad Bible. Norman, OK: University Of Oklahoma Press, 1984 Wilson, Robert. Conrad's mythology. Troy, New York: Whitson Publishing Co., 1987