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well since no one else has started I guess I will. First of all let me say I hate this topic the most out of all of them so forgive me if my response blows. As to the question, what are the possible effects of layered narration, the first answer is obvious, because it gives a feeling of reality to the story. While Heart of Darkness is based on reality, the descriptions of human suffering and agony seem almost impossible to the average human being, to someone who has not actually been there. This is the reason for the narration leveling, at least the most obvious one.
The second one is, strangely enough, for character building in my opinion. The character Kurtz is shown as a force, a voice, more presence than man, so what would such a man think about? How would he think to begin with? Kurtz is both a character that defies description and a character that is described frequently using a veritable plethora of adjectives none of which seem to match. So while you learn a great deal about Kurtz, you don't really come to understand him, which is what narrating from a personal perspective is all about.
So my question to you is simply what you think, am I wrong? Please tell me your opinion because if no one argues with me this will get very boring very quickly, tell us what you think in regards to this topic so we can tangent off into another one as quickly as possible.
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ReplyDeleteI know I'm late and very sorry, I just recieved the link today. I think you both are right, sorry Matthew no arguement here either. To back it up I also think the layered narration is there to remind the reader that Kurtz is telling a story. When Marlow is cut off by his listener it reinforces that this is indeed a story, but a true one. As Marlow tells the story I even forgot that he was being listend to by other people. I think it just adds to the actual story itself by bringing that narration feel to it, as if you yourself reading it are actually there listening to Marlow.
ReplyDeleteOk guys, I asked and she said it might be easier to write a new post to respond, it will probably fix the freezing too.
ReplyDeleteI finally got to the site without it freezing, so here goes nothing:
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Matthew. The layered narration does give the book feeling. I also liked what Britnai said about how Conrad uses layered narration to remind the reader that Kurtz is telling a story. This helps us really think about what he is talking about. All the suffering and pain, it all seems so real. This is a good technique to help the reader understand it all easier and feel like they are there listening in as well.
I don't understand the part about "Kurtz is telling a story." Do you mean Marlow?
ReplyDeleteSorry Matthew I'm not going to argue with you. I would like to add that another effect of the layered narration could be to keep the reader from getting so absorbed in the story. Which although it may sound like a bad thing, I believe it is very useful and necessary. If one gets completely absorbed in a story they may forget it's real, and it may become just a story. I believe Conrad wants the reader to realize how horrible things are in the Congo and you can't do that if you don't think it's real and that it really happened, or was happening. One example of this was at the beginning of Chapter two when a listener chimes in to the story and tells Marlow "to be civil" (pg 36). This part completely shocked me back into reality that this was as story being told, not just a novel about it.
ReplyDeleteI definitely meant "Marlow is telling a story." I'm sure why I said Kurtz.
ReplyDeleteNot sure*
ReplyDeleteMan, I hate this site.
haha oops i put Kurtz is telling a story, and then I put Marlow in the next sentence which is what I meant to put in the first place. anyways, I wanted to come back to this one because I feel like I didn't give enough feed back. so here I go, the layered naration keeps the reader on edge. Because of the interruption from Marlow's listener, the reader is pulled away from the story. Being pulled away from the story makes the reader want to find out what is going to happen next or question in their own mind if what the speaker is saying is really happening. It reminds me of Leminysnickets (doubt i spelled that right) series of unfortunate events. When the narrator is typing the story as he is telling it, then stops right before the children get eaten by the dangerous snake to fix his typewriter. This jolt from the story makes the reader or in this case audience want to hurry up and get back into the story.
ReplyDeleteThat was an awesome connection. The book gives a feeling exactly like that movie does. It keeps you on your toes and wanting to know what happens next.
ReplyDeleteAnother possible effect of layered narration would be not getting to know the characters as well and to the full extent. But I think that Conrad intended it that way. I believe he didn’t want the reader to get caught up in emotions and such, but to have the reader create their own emotions and have the reader focus more on what was happening and not how they feel about it.
ReplyDeleteAs far as syntax goes, layered narration does also create a slight problem with quotations. Sometimes it’s hard to tell who is speaking and it makes the reader go back and look at what is going. Or at least I had to sometimes while reading the book.