Fly Away Peter And Heart Of Darkness

Essay, Research Paper

ESSAY ON THE PAIRING: Fly Away Peter and Heart of Darkness

To what extent do these two texts use the similar motif of the journey to present different ideas?

Jenny Christie

Fly Away Peter, written by David Malouf, is set in 1914-1915 during the period of World War One. The story of the main character, Jim, begins in his home in rural Queensland before embarking on a journey in France to fight in the war. Heart of Darkness, written by Joseph Conrad, is set in a similar period of time. The main character Marlow’s journey is to the Congo, which had recently become a part of the Belgium Empire. Both characters undertake a physical, intellectual and spiritual journey. They also learn about themselves individually as well as about humanity which brings them to question the meaning of life.

At the beginning of the two novels, both Jim and Marlow are somewhat innocent to what lay ahead of them. Malouf describes Jim as being in a state of ‘dangerous innocence’ in the early chapters of Fly Away Peter. He is portrayed as being a person who is not well educated, has limited experience of the world and doesn’t like change. ‘New views of the things didn’t interest him…’ pg. 50. In Heart of Darkness, Conrad portrays Marlow as a man who loves adventure, which is quite unlike the character of Jim. He has seen and experienced much of the world. However, he is innocent because he has never been to a place like Africa where colonialism exists. He has always lived in a civilized world controlled by rules and regulations and so has never witnessed the effect lack of restraint can have on people.

As Jim and Marlow undertake their physical journeys, both begin to lose their innocence and gain knowledge of the world. Jim begins to lose his innocence when he goes to Brisbane and sees how the news of war affects people. The change makes him realize he wants to experience more in his life and so enlists to fight in the war. On arrival in France Jim finds himself in a ‘world unlike anything he had ever known or imagined.’ p58 He experienced the horrors and living and fighting in the trenches and the way war transformed soldiers into different people that became unrecognizable. As he sees the people killed and replaced and killed again he becomes a veteran of war and feels himself growing older. Marlow begins to lose his innocence when he arrives in Africa and witnesses the effects of colonialism. He had previously believed that colonialism would bring prosperity to the colonizing country as well as enlightenment, civilization and religion to the country being colonized. He begins to question the motives of the Europeans in Africa when he sees the disorganization and lack of purpose at the Outer Station. These doubts are reinforced as he travels up the river. He learns that individuals are only interested in personal gain. The managers and company agents were so obsessed with obtaining ivory that they forgot their morals and civilized ways. ‘The only real feeling was a desire to get appointed to a trading-post where ivory was to be had, so that they could earn percentages.’ p46 Being in Africa gave the Europeans a sense of power, which enabled them to treat the black natives like animals. ‘Brought from all the recesses of the coast in all the legality of time contracts, lost in uncongenial surroundings, fed on unfamiliar food, they sickened, became inefficient, and were then allowed to crawl away and rest.’ p 35 When meeting Kurtz, Marlow learns that civilization tends to restrain man’s savage tendencies. When man is left to his own desires without a protective, civilized environment, he becomes drawn back into savagery.

Both characters embark on a journey of self discovery where they learn more about themselves and man. On Marlows journey into the heart of the Congo, he realizes that there is darkness in all men’s hearts, which is controlled by civilization and education. Without the rules and regulations set by society, man can allow the darkness to control his life. This is what happened to Kurtz when he was left alone with his own desires in the jungle. Kurtz came to the realization that there was nothing or no one to control his actions. The Russian living at the inner station told Marlow how Kurtz had been willing to kill him for a little ivory, ‘…because he could do so, and had a fancy for it, and there was nothing on earth to prevent him killing whom he jolly well pleased.’ p92 Marlow was also drawn to the wilderness of the jungle, but protected himself from this darkness by immersing himself in work. ‘You wonder I didn’t go ashore for a howl and a dance?…I had no time’ p63 Kurtz had been overcome with temptation where as Marlow was drawn to the edge and was able to withdraw. Jim also realized there was darkness in his heart when Wizzer picked him on. ‘They faced one another with murder in their eyes and Jim was surprised by the black anger he was possessed by and the dull savagery he sensed in the other man.’ p63 Jim realizes that tragic circumstances bring out different aspects of a person’s character which would normally be suppressed.

Both authors use the journeys their characters undertake to raise questions about the meaning of life though their approach to the topic is very different. Heart of Darkness begins its story in the light of the Thames River and ends the book in darkness. Conrad uses this contrast