There is then the reference to Kurtz by one of the 'pilgrims'- the 'brickmaster' of the 'outer station': " He is a prodigy", he said at last. "He is an emissary of pity and science and progress and devil knows what else..." Yes, today he is the chief of the best station,next year he will be assistant manager, two years more and ...but I daresay you know what he will be in two years' time" ...(p.36) And then there are the accolades of the harlequinn : "He had", he informed me proudly, " managed to nurse Kurtz through two illnesses, but " as a rule Kurtz wandered alone, far into the depths of the forest..."what was he doing? Exploring or what?" ,I asked. " Oh yes ofcourse he had discovered lots of villages, a lake too" , he did not know exactly in which direction- but mostly his expeditions had been for ivory. " But, he had no goods to trade by that time", I objected. "There is a good lot of cartridges left even yet", he answered, looking away. "To speak plainly, he raided the country", he said...." Kurtz got the tribe to follow him, did he?", I suggested. He fidgeted a little. " They adored him", he said.......... "I don't mind telling you, he wanted to shoot me one day"."Shoot You", I Cried. "What for?" " Well I had a small lot of ivory, the chief of that village, near my house gave me. Well ,he wanted it and would'nt hear reason. He declared he would shoot me unless, I gave him the ivory and then cleared out of the country 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...p.80) In thus stringing various perspectives to define or sketch a character for the reader, we see an observed object/ subject and an observor in time and space who imposes his own neutrality or subjectivity on the observed object or thing. In Kurtz's description we have the neutrality of the Accountant who gives credit to Kurtz for his ivory collecting expeditions, we have the prejudice of the ambitious and envious 'pilgrim' who dislikes Kurtz for his enterprise and closeness to the top bosses of the company. And we have the irony-charged blind adoration of the harlequinn who " wo'nt judge Kurtz".
Part of the Dream Weave Walk 1999-2010