Today, I found out the Starbucks girl across my Wendy's was familiar with our little friend, Kurtz.
There I was, ordering a grande white peppermint hot chocolate at 6 in the evening. I set Heart of Darkness on the counter so I could grab my wallet out of my backpack.The Starbucks girl said "that's a good book." Truth be told, I hadn't begun to read as far as I should have, and the beginning was painstakingly boring, so I was a little puzzled at her remark. "Really? Why'd you like it?" I replied. She hesitated before saying "Umm... yeah, I mean it's a hard book, but it has a pretty deep meaning. Useful stuff once you get into post-secondary (earlier I had mentioned I was reading it for English 12). Just keep reading. You'll understand if you pay more attention."
You know, I think Starbucks girl was wrong. I don't believe it's because I'm not paying enough attention to HoD that I am not enjoying it, in fact, I think I'm paying too much attention. The only problem is, I'm paying attention to all the wrong things. In the Belief assignment at the beginning of the year, I can recall my very last comment being "Overall, I can't decide whether Bowering is an over thinker or we are all just under thinkers?" I think I'm beginning to find the answer to my question. Alas, a (partial) answer, instead of a question!
Initiating my pathetic attempt to understanding Conrad and Bowering's narrative style in 3, 2, 1..
Conrad and Bowering: two complete pain in the asses, two exceptional writers. Both these artists write from "outside the kernel". Now what the hell does this mean? (Yes, you have explained it, but because it is such a complex concept, I feel that I must attempt to interpret it into words of my own. Let us call this The Kernel Concept 4 Dummies: Sequel Uno.)
Marlow, the second narrator in Conrad's Heart of Darkness, is described as not your typical story teller. "But Marlow was not typical (if his propensity to spin yarns be excepted), and to him the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel but outside, enveloping the tale which brought it out only as a glow brings out a haze, in the likeness of one of these misty halos that sometimes are made visible by the spectral illumination of moonshine." In Belief and The Box, it is evident right off the bat that Bowering is not the average narrator, either. Metaphorically speaking, many writers tell a story that begins "within a nutshell" and reveals its nature as the "nut cracks open", this referring to the progression of the story being told. Bowering and Conrad, on the other hand, narrate in a way that demonstrates the importance of the way a story is told (its narration) rather than the story itself; it is the "shell of the nut" that will present the true meaning of a story. It is literally a think outside of the box concept.
*Update*
I've come to realize that Conrad writes his narrative almost like poetry, with his switch of physical to metaphorical to speculative use of words within a single sentence. The effect that this writing method has is the way it allows for its audience to be engulfed into the story. Though many may think of it as tedious, this style of writing lets the audience truly feel the writing in its slow rhythm. This is especially demonstrated in The Heart of Darkness as Conrad really draws us readers in to experience Marlow's narration as if we are on the boat ourselves. To really experience Heart of Darkness in its full glory, Conrad doesn't aim to explain why or how things have happened, but aims to recreate these dark episodes for each reader personally--- into their own thoughts, feelings, and hearts.
This pushes a better understanding of Heart of Darkness, by allowing us to enter its world and letting it become a part of our own experience.
Without a minimal understanding of this style of writing, I feel that this is the reason many readers misinterpret or overlook the morals of Heart of Darkness. I know now that the Starbucks girl had been wrong. My understanding of Heart of Darkness would not be revealed in the book itself; it would be revealed inside of me.
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