Introductions

As I reread the first pages of the novel, I got interested in the way Marlow was introduced by the narrator. In the first paragraphs, the reader is presented to the other individuals traveling on the Nellie, starting with “The Director of Companies was our captain and our host. We four affectionately watched his back as he stood in the bows looking to seaward” (Conrad, 2). Interestingly enough, the director of companies doesn’t have an important role in the novel, ceasing to be named after the first five or ten pages. The reader’s attention is diverted from the important subjects through the introduction of this character.

Later on, the narrator, one of the four individuals who traveled with the Director of Companies, introduces “The Lawyer – the best of old fellows – had, because of his many years and many virtues, the only cushion on deck, and was lying on the rug” (Conrad, 2). From the beginning of the novel, the author highlights the different classes and customs, which reveal the characters personalities and their interactions with other individuals. Following the Lawyer, “The Accountant had brought out already a box of dominoes, and was toying architecturally with the bones” (Conrad, 2). This description of the accountants actions serves almost as a photograph of his movements, the search for equilibrium between the different domino pieces.

These presentations of the narrator’s companions share common structures, they all start with the profession of the individual followed by a description of their current actions. This enables the author to break the pattern and introduce the most important character by stating: “Marlow sat cross-legged right aft, leaning against the mizzenmast” (Conrad, 2). Notice the manner in which the narrator refers to this individual, by his first name, instead of presenting him as The Sailor. By not starting in the middle of action, by slowly introducing his subject, Conrad creates suspense and diverts the reader’s attention to finally pose the spotlight on his protagonist’s ways.