be discovered, mysteries waiting to be uncovered, but Marlow nor the reader have any idea as to what they are.In the following sentence, Conrad, describing the coast, writes, This one was almost featureless, as if still in the making. He adds another element of puzzlement with this imagery by implying that the coast in not a finished product. We dont know what it consists of, or what it is destined to consist of. The word featureless conjures mystery as well because one cannot comprehend the appearance of something lacking features.The view from Marlows boat is of The edge of a colossal jungle, so dark-green as to be almost black, fringed with white surf, (which) ran straight, like a ruled line, far, far away along a blue sea whose glitter was blurred by a creeping mist. The structure of this sentence brings the reader in and out of a mysterious sentiment. It begins by describing a dark, almost black jungle, whose image connotes mystery, since the jungles darkness impedes visibility. The sentence then talks about a white surf, which ran straight, like a ruled line. The surf is being described as very uniform and simple, quite unlike anything obscure. However, the imagery of the last part, a blue sea whose glitter was blurred by a creeping mist, rejuvinates that obscurity.Later, Marlow, talking about soldiers they dropped off on the coast says, Some, I heard, got drowned in the surf; but whether they did or did not, nobody seemed particularly to care. The image of people disappearing in the water, and of Marlows crew being indifferent, definitely summons mystery.Lastly, Marlow speaks of a man of war anchored off the coast. There wasnt even a shed there and she was shelling the bush. He describes this act as incomprehensible, because the narrators nor the shooters can see the target. The reader wonders what it is they are shooting at and why. When somebody on board said that there was a camp of natives, whom he called their enemies, the ...
