Conrad uses contrasts to illustrate his work philosophy and religious beliefs. Marlow’s later encounters are all shaped by the Accountant, who lives in a village that is full of death and life. Marlow hears for the first time about Kurtz and begins to accept Conrad’s credo of “falling back on one’s own innate strength” when “everything is gone” (123-148). Marlow comes to understand this “capacity” when he first sees an accountant who adheres to the European ideal, and later sees the remains of a similar man in the jungle.
Marlow observes that despite this, the accountant still maintains a “clean” appearance. Marlow observes that the accountant still maintains a good appearance. He looks “amazing,” with a “high-starched collar, a white cuff, a light jacket made of alpaca, and a clean necktie.” (122). Marlow’s admiration is evident in his description of the clothing worn by the accountant. Conrad says that it reflects the character of the man, as “his starched shirts and got-up collars” demonstrate. Conrad is not as faithful in this case. The accountant, while demonstrating his “apple-pie” order and organization, still remains far from the center of darkness. The accountant has shown he can maintain the European hierarchy in spite of “demoralization,” yet he’s still far from the epicenter of darkness, the inner-station (122).
Marlow is a fan of the psychological effects of work (“I love what’s in it-the chance to discover yourself. You must create your own reality, and not that of others. Marlow’s main focus is Kurtz. The accountant describes Kurtz as “a remarkable person” (123) Marlow finds it remarkable that his European air, his finance work and his superiority have all worked together to make him appear as a “vision” (122). He obsesses about the perfection of his “bookkeeping” (122). When he has to enter the right data, he hates those “savages” because they “distract (his] attention.” It is impossible to prevent clerical error in the current climate without it (123). His work suggests daily that human life is not important in pursuit of perfect logic. His work in mathematics is one of flawless logic. His strength lies in “making accurate entries of perfectly right transactions” (123) Kurtz is regarded as remarkable by the accountant because he sends in “as much ivory as the rest of them combined,” and enjoys maintaining the books with these large numbers (123). Marlow may have used words like light to describe the accountant because he hasn’t yet seen the real costs of his blind faith in the work.
Marlow and his crew reach the river and arrive at a small inlet where “a hut made of reeds”, which looks “melancholy”, is erected. It flies an “unrecognizable flag” (138). The dwelling has been “dismantled”, and there is a “rude” table, as well as a “heap” of trash (138). The hut stands in stark contrast to the accountant’s home: it is constructed of reeds. It is located low, below the canopy of trees, rather than high up. It has been left empty, with signs of abandonment. A sign is posted outside, but it looks like it was written by someone who is not a book-keeper. Marlow, however, finds the book “An investigation into some points of seamanship” by the door. The book is “luminous” with a light other than professional (138). Conrad has found a symbol to connect his “capacity of faithfulness” and his idea of work as spiritually redeeming. This book shows a “singleness in intention, a sincere concern for doing the right thing at work,” which offers Marlow a gift that an accountant’s professional light could never provide: “something undeniably real” (138). Marlow knows that Towson is a serious author who takes “inquiring” seriously. Conrad’s work is an exploration of the self to reach that level where a person can discover his or her own inherent strength and “capacity to faithfulness”.
The book Marlow’s finds can also serve as a symbolic representation of man’s soul. The book’s “singular intent” is what makes it “extraordinary” even though it has “lost it covers” and its pages are “extremely dirty”. Even when stripped of its outer protective layer, the book still shows discipline and restraint. Like a cultured man stripped bare, the only thing left is his inner self. Kurtz is, then, like a book whose binding has been dissolved, leaving nothing behind. He is not aware of his inner self because he only focuses on the aspects of himself he thinks will give him power. Marlow feels the same sense of power as that man who used to own the book. Marlow believes he was tearing himself from the comfort of a long-standing friendship by putting it down. He also imagines a book that shows rays of light in the darkness. Marlow would have to read this book in order to survive the jungle. He could bask in its comforting light. The accountant might have computed numbers in the same scenario to prove his faith.
The narrator of Conrad’s tale states that Marlow was “not typical” and “his meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel but outside, enveloping the story which brought it out only as a glow brings out haze in the likeness of one of those misty halos sometimes made visible by the spectral illumination of moonshine.” Marlow was described in the novel as “not being typical”. The narrator said, “He did not fit the mold…and the meaning he gave to an event wasn’t inside the kernel, but was outside the story. It was like those misty, hazy halos, sometimes brought out by moonshine.” This is a view that implies the idea that the essence or core of something does exist, but the true meaning lies within the “enveloping”. The same goes for a person. In the case of the chief accountant’s office, the “darkness and chaos” are what surround the station, causing Marlow, in his attempt to escape “eternity”, to retreat inside. Chaos in the office acts as an additional force to make the accountant rely on their work, “dedicate themselves to their books”, and maintain a personal fiction to bring order to the world outside. The chaos that surrounds the office of the accountant is the truth, the living truth. It is this that compels the accountant to put faith in his work, be “devoted to his books,” and maintain a personal fiction that places order on the outside world as a means of survival (122).
Marlow and Marlow’s men pass through a reed-covered hut on their way to Kurtz’s inner station. This hut is a bridge that represents Marlow’s descent in hell. The book, and the wood that was outside, clearly demonstrate the “capacity of faithfulness” of the “whiteman” who once inhabited the hut. The book contains the bookkeeping of the accountant, but its absence suggests that the only ideas left in the jungle are raw ones. The hut does have a table: “a plank between two posts.” But it isn’t a desk as high as the accountant’s, nor are there two posts that show severed skulls like at Kurtz Station (123;138). Conrad’s most important point is the symbolism of this half-wayhouse. By stating that all that is known about the man who lived in the hut is that he was dead and is no longer there, Conrad says that men can only live at the extremes. Either you live the way the accountant did, following the morals of civilized society, or you live completely unrestrained, like Kurtz. Kurtz is a symbol of the human side that one cannot ignore once he begins to understand it.
Conrad’s work-and-faith philosophy is evident in all of these spaces. In the African Jungle, however, these two concepts, which are usually mutually exclusive, are brought together. Marlow conveys this concept when he trains a native in how to use the boiler. He says that the native believes the evil spirit would be angry if the water disappeared from the transparent object. Marlow explains that he gained insight in this matter and states “the boiler did indeed have a devil” (138). This showed a new found harmony between work, faith, and the boiler. Marlow, like the native, believes in a “sulky Devil” which helps him avoid “creepy thought”.
