HOD Blog #1

    A notable detail in the introduction of Heart Of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is the use of imagery to describe the setting. At first, the setting in which the steamboat is sailing has a calm mood to it: "In the offing the sea and the sky were welded together without a joint, and in the luminous space the tanned sails of the barges drifting up with the tide.." (Conrad 65). The sky and the water come together seamlessly and it seems rather beautiful and calm. As the scene progresses, there is a foreboding undertone as the setting becomes dark with a "brooding gloom" (Conrad 65). The author uses these contrasting descriptions to intensify the events that will happen later on. As Marlow begins to speak of the darkest places on earth, "a change came over the waters, and the serenity became less brilliant" (Conrad 66). The change in mood  is obvious as the mood of the characters change.