Final Re-Write and Commentary

Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad (As rewritten by Max Beard)

One

“Initially, they had terrified us. We first heard of them when three fishermen returned from the riverbank. They ran, clambering over each other, towards the house of Duna, our great uncle. Later I heard that they had spoken of a beast on the water; a great otherworldly thing made of rock and teeth. It had shrieked warning at them. Two of the warriors, Azubuike and Tapiwa, had almost immediately gathered their armour and weapons and were dispatched to the riverbanks to investigate the claims further.

“In their absence, fear spread through the village like a hungry flame. Stories were swapped for descriptions of the beast, even though none involved had witnessed it in person. Nevertheless, one could feel something ominous in the air. A strange devil had reared its head here and surely there would be grave consequence.

“’Calm yourselves for we have not yet ascertained the nature or intention of the beast’ Duna had called. ‘There is work to be done and we cannot afford to fret over what may be but a minor folly’. The villagers had taken heed and stepped back into their respective routines. It was not over though; whispers of the beast could still be heard in the village’s motionless corners. Workers exchanged worried glances as they went on with their tasks. An unspoken but universally recognised concern had descended on the village that day, and not one man woman or child was free from it.

“Duna had gathered council inside the meeting house. Among those he spoke with was Ramla, the eldest woman in our village. Ever since her youth in ages long past she had been able to foretell coming events. Heeding her advice, Duna had been able to steer the village away from famine and war. Along with Duna and Ramla, Kalisha was also in attendance that day. Kalisha was a powerful witch, a kind soul, beloved by all of the children. Daktari was there too, the old healer. The last man in attendance was the warrior Abrafo, a man who knew the smell of evil better than anyone. The five souls sat huddled, speaking in quiet tones, their heads low and their gaze fixated purely on whoever spoke.

“Standing outside the meeting house was Kamau, son of Abrafo. Kamau too was a warrior, there to keep guard. Malaika also stood outside. She was a beautiful young witch and apprentice of Kalisha, whom Ramla had predicted would one day possess great power.  Although I had no right to approach and ask questions, my curiosity had the better of me.

‘Malaika’ I said quietly. ‘What will become of us?’

‘Silence, boy. They will hear you. And this business doesn’t yet concern you.’

‘But I am worried’ I pleaded, ‘for the village, for our family.’

‘We are all worried. Please, Cudjo, leave us be. You cannot help us here. Soon we will go to Baobab for guidance, and when we have devised a course of action I personally will seek your assistance. Be patient.’ There was a warmth and openness to Malaika that was at once maternally comforting, yet her beauty was equal parts hypnotizing and terrifying.

‘I will be waiting. Good luck to you Malaika.’ With that I returned to my house and waited.”

Two

“It was not too much later that Tapiwa returned. Alone. The entire village gathered around as he spoke to Duna. ‘We found the beast, and it was not alone. There were many more. I saw pale men climb down from the backs of the beasts. Azubuike suggested that these beasts were vessels for those men; he saw fire in their bellies. He has stayed to keep watch, while I have returned to gather more warriors.’ The crowd murmured and shuffled, uneasy.

‘Who are the pale men?’ Duna asked.

‘What do they want?’ someone else called.

‘I do not know. They are pale not only in appearance, but also in spirit. Many of these men are soulless and small, but they must not be underestimated. They are setting up camp and we must watch them to discern what it is they have come for and prepare in the event that what they have come for is us.’

“From there the entire village erupted into preparation. Each soul knew the job that they must do. Warriors mobilized into two groups; one led by Tapiwa to take the charge and return to Azubuike’s position, the other led by Abrafo to hold and defend the village from potential attack. Weapons were prepared by the armoury, farmers prepared provisions for the outgoing warriors. A drum beat was struck up, and a great performance of an ancient protection rite began. I was not a part of these proceedings; instead I listened to the drum and the chants and felt the tingling magic in my bones, as one does in these moments. I was on the edge of the village, watching as Kamau, Kalisha and Malaika ascended the hills into the wilderness to consult Baobab. I let them travel a safe distance before I grabbed my staff and followed behind, carefully, quietly.”

Three

“Kamau lead the two women through the forest along a makeshift passage that seemed to open at your approach and grow over as you passed. This journey turned out to be quite a long one, and at times I thought that Kamau was aware of my lingering presence, though at no point did he acknowledge my hiding out of sight in the thick of the green.

“Finally, we approached Baobab as a new day began. It was the first time I had beheld the Tree of Life with my own eyes, and it was beautiful. As wide as ten men at his trunk, taller than twenty at his peak, his snake-like branches spreading up, out and back down towards earth again. Daktari had once told us that Baobab was modest, and pointed his branches down so as not to overshadow the rest of the forest. Daktari also said that a man could live for one thousand years on only one of Baobab’s fruit per season, and that Baobab’s bark could be woven into fireproof fabric.  Daktari said in his youth he had seen a dead man resurrected when Baobab reached out and touched him. Standing there in his shadow I believed every word, the Tree of Life was sacred, and I felt naked and ashamed to be there in that way – hiding from my own kin. The three stood in front of Baobab, bowing in respect. Kalisha signalled for Malaika to proceed, and in doing so she walked toward the mighty trunk and placed her hand flat on the bark. The bark seemed to move as it rotated her hand inside the trunk. It sounds impossible, I know, but I saw. She reached inside of Baobab, and in turn, Baobab reached inside of her.”

                Four

Later I would hear of other events that had occurred while I was with Baobab. Down at the riverbank, Tapiwa and his men finally reached Azubuike, who had been staking out the new camp from just inside the tree line. The warriors had approached Azubuike and spread out with perfect silence. Azubuike told the rest that the pale men had lazed about while shackled men from downriver set up the camp. The shackled were defeated; their indignation at capture had now dissolved, leaving only mindless workers resigned to their fate of labour at the hands of the pale men. The warriors looked on, disgusted. It was then that they caught their first sight of Olumide.

“He’d strolled over from the river like he’d just walked right off of the water. He was pale, yet there was something much more to him; much deeper, and there was something in that depth that rendered his paleness irrelevant. He spoke to the lazy Pales with disdain, and exuded a compassion for our shackled cousins. The strangest thing though, although he spoke English, which was to us, at the time, completely alien, that voice of his reverberated inside all, and the meaning of his words was not lost on Azubuike and his men; they understood everything.

Five

 “At the same time, back at the village, Ramla and Duna sat together around a small fire in the yard of Duna’s house. Duna waited patiently while Ramla meditated, combing the wilderness of time for truth and purpose; for a vision of what would become of us. When she started to talk, Duna stared at her. All of her wrinkles had been ironed out, her face was as smooth as marble, and her eyes showed only white while her pupils gazed in a direction perfectly inconceivable.

“’Olumide has come to the jungle… Sailed here on blood red tides… Like the others… But not… Not like the others… Olumide is our saviour… Devils come to take our land… To take our treasures… Olumide will try to save us…  Olumide will try… But he needs help… We must help him… He needs Malaika … he needs Duna… he needs us… We must protect and help him, so that he will protect and help us… He must not fail, for his successor will be too late…’

“Ramla fell silent then, she swayed back and forth, a chilling wind thrashed through Duna’s yard, and he watched it whip Ramla’s hair around her face as she began to mutter. There were no more words from her then, just mumbling sounds that gradually built into a cough. Ramla began to heave and to sway, she moaned and coughed and Duna knew that something was not right. Before he could climb to his feet, the fire was blown out and Ramla ceased all movement and all noise. She was leaned back, perfectly still, eyes looking up into the stars. Duna touched her shoulder and was surprised to find it stone cold. He had called Daktari urgently, who had been saddened to announce that Ramla had moved into the next world.

‘How old was she?’ Duna asked. ‘You must have known her in her youth?’

‘That is not the case Duna’ replied Daktari, ‘She has always been old. When I was child she appeared exactly as she does now. My father was also a healer, and he told me that Ramla was older than time itself.’ He paused then, looking wistfully at Ramla. ‘What did she tell you?’

‘Enough,’ replied Duna. ‘Enough to know there is a man here among the pale filth by the river. But not a man, he is more than that. He will be our saviour, and we his. We will know exactly how to proceed once Kalisha, Malaika and Kamau return from Baobab.’”

Six

“’My children’ Malaika said in a voice that was not her own. It was a deep voice, huge, almost too loud to understand. The voice rung out through the jungle, bounced off trees and came back to us again. ‘We are in danger of being stripped of all that we value. All sacred things will be taken and sold or destroyed. Olumide has come to help us. He will need the bones of great beasts. You will take him inland to a great clearing at the bottom of Rwenzori where the Elephants go to die. Help him bring the bones back to the river, and in return he will help to make us strong again, and he will teach us how to defend ourselves against our new enemy.’

“Kalisha and Kamau stood at attention, listening intently.

‘This young one who touches me, the one who has been selected as conduit, she must not leave the side of Olumide. She will lead him to lead us, her heart will guide him.’”

Seven

“So that’s how you knew to trust him.” I said.

“Yes.” he replied.

“And that’s how he collected all the ivory.”

“Yes.”

“Was it through him that you acquired your skills in English?”

“I picked it up through listening to him. Observing patterns, associating words. It was not difficult. Of course I really began to excel once I learned to read.”

“You’re an amazing specimen.”

“I object to your use of the word ‘specimen’.”

“It was not meant in a derogatory way, Solomon, I meant an ‘amazing specimen’ of a human being. You are, quite frankly, one of the most brilliant I have come across.”

“Thank you Mr Marlow. I delight in such revelations.”

“Of course,” I felt necessary to add “I’m naturally sceptical about the magic. Even if it does make the story that much more engaging.” At this, he only shrugged, the smallest grin parting his thick lips. He couldn’t care less whether I believed. “One more thing I’m curious about though...  Why did you leave?”

“It was Malaika who told me to sneak onto the steamer. She told me that he couldn’t die alone. She told me she would go herself, but she would surely be found, and that I was more inconspicuous. I held his hand during his last breath.” He stopped then, looked at his shoes, no trace of a grin now. “But that is why I got on the boat, not why I stayed on board.”

Eight

“As Malaika had promised, when the time came to escort Kurtz to Rwenzori, she came for me. Even though I was young she believed I would be an asset to them as they ventured into the jungle. A whole company marched into the wilderness, some pulled huge empty carts with which to fill with ivory. At the front of this parade was Kamau, followed by Malaika, followed by me and Kurtz. Behind us was Tapiwa, and behind him were two of Kurtz’ men.

“We were travelling companions, Kurtz and I. I carried his possessions. He is the one who gave me my name; Solomon. He was quiet for much of it, but sometimes he would speak of completely alien things – concepts and worlds I could not at that time comprehend. I had always been curious; it was my curiosity that had got me to that point. And, you might say it is what has gotten me where I am today. Solely responsible in fact. But it was not mere curiosity that made me leave that place.

“The route we were on took us very close to Baobab. One time, after the camp had been set up and the food was being prepared, Malaika decided she would take Kurtz to see Baobab. She had taken him by the hand, and they were about to sneak off when Kurtz looked back at camp to where I stood, looking back at them. At his insistence I joined them. We approached Baobab and Kurtz went very quiet. We stood there together, the three of us, gazing on at Baobabs majesty in silence. Finally, Kurtz broke the silence.

‘I understand it,’ he muttered to himself, ‘everything is touching. Everything lives, breathes, dies, together. All living things are just separate facets of the whole… All of us, just….’ He stopped then. I know now that he ran out of English words – Baobabs grandeur cannot be shared with the mouth, only with the heart. I stood in front of the mighty tree, but no longer stared at him, as I was transfixed by Kurtz. Baobabs glow made Kurtz’ eyes shine and tears roll down his cheeks, his mouth hung open in awe. He looked so beautiful there in that moment, he had realised an essential truth, experienced true wonder.

“I knew then that there was much more to the world than I could conceive of. Later I would dream of experiencing the wonder I had witnessed in Kurtz. I would yearn for that experience, desperately craving knowledge and enlightenment. I knew that if he could find it in my world, I could find it in his.”

Cast:

*African name (meaning in English) role in the story
*Baobab (the tree of life) avatar of the wilderness
*Cudjo (born on a Monday) narrator – also known as “Solomon”
*Azubuike (has much strength) hunter/protector
*Abrafo (executioner) hunter/protector
*Kamau (quiet warrior) hunter/protector
*Tapiwa (ravager) hunter/protector
*Daktari (healer) healer
*Duna (lord/master) chief
*Kalisha (sorceress) main witch
*Malaika (angel) student witch/Kurtz intended
*Ramla (predictor of the future) wise fortune telling elder
*Olumide (“god has bought me”) The saviour – also known as “Kurtz”
*Marlow (English name) first person narrator in frame story, character in original text. 

General – My re-write is a depiction of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness told from the opposite end. While, in the original a seaman working for an ivory trading company in East Africa drives his steamer upriver in search of a lost employee of the company who is revered and despised in equal measure from other employees. The re-write follows a young African boy who came to know this lost employee and who tells the story of how and why this English man appeared to have become a part of a local tribe. This is a parallel story of Marlow’s retelling, meaning the same events will or will have occurred, however we will see it from another angle.

The “Darkness” - In Heart of Darkness, Africa, both the people and the environment are portrayed as a kind of “other”, a place and people of darkness. This metaphor is used many times by Marlow. He makes references to the lack of light, to the night time, the colour of the sky.  It works well as a narrative device to show that Marlow is in over his head; however it is also quietly brushes over any notion of culture in the peoples depicted. In my re-write I aimed to return their humanity and as much of their culture as I could without churning out a research report. I’ve put in a lot of effort to avoid using day or night, light or dark as metaphors in this piece. In fact, I’ve put in a lot of effort to avoid it entirely. Cudjo makes almost no mention of day or night, usually only referring to “later” or saying “a new day”. I had hoped this would suggest a better relationship with nature, with less emphasis on these differences it might imply these people can distinguish light and dark as being two sides of the same coin, two halves making a whole, rather than two different concepts existing in conflict with one another. Baobab, the tree of life, exists to give the environment some benevolence, to remove the darkness from the jungle.

Narrative Style – Conrad set Heart of Darkness as a frame narrative, where the main character of the story is actually telling the story in a different setting. I decided to use this format as well, although rather than begin a frame story to introduce the main narrative, I have begun with the main narrative only to drawback and reveal the frame later (Chapter 7). In the original story Kurtz dies and knowing this, we know by chapter six of my story that in his death he will fail to protect the village from what the company decides it will do with it. I wanted to show that Kurtz did do something while he was there; he created Solomon, who would go on to do great things.

Chapter 7 – Chapter seven stands apart from the rest of the story as it is the first to address the frame, and does so most directly. This is the conversation in which the whole narrative takes place. I have opted not to explain the details of time and place of where the conversation happens, but in my mind it is most certainly in England and takes place five to ten years after Kurtz’ death, after Solomon has tracked him down purely out of curiosity. The lack of details in the frame story is to add some enigmatic charm to Cudjo/Solomon’s character, and also so that Kurtz’ legacy (as hinted at in the final paragraph of the story) remains mysterious.

Marlow – In chapter 7 I also hoped to absolve Marlow of his borderline racism in the original text. While I don’t think Marlow was an outwardly racist character, I think he did hold the crippled notion of superiority bred into him by his culture. In addressing Cudjo/Solomon as brilliant, he lets go of any colonial English constructs that apply to him. Obviously, admitting Cudjo/Solomon’s brilliance is a small act, but I feel that it’s redemptive in that it was as much as you could hope for from such a stoic personality; he never made a grand act of anything – it’s simply out of character for him.

Some of the blanks – With my story I hoped to fill in some of the blanks. A couple of those were addressed in chapter seven. These are questions I had after reading Heart of Darkness for the second time: Why did the local people trust Kurtz, why did they see him as godlike? (He was prophesized). Where did he get all the ivory? (Centuries old Elephant graveyard). Who was the African woman? (Malaika, his guide, protector, romantic interest).

A note on names - Cudjo (English name “Solomon”) is the main character here. His actions almost don’t affect the story in any way, but he is the observer, narrator, and he is recounting the story to Marlow. I wanted a name that would mean something in both languages, so I chose Cudjo because it means “born on a Monday” where the name “Solomon” comes from the English nursery rhyme “Solomon Grundy” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_grundy). It was also important to me for Kurtz to have an African name. Olumide was chosen simply for its meaning, as a way to semi-deify Kurtz. Baobab is the name of a type of tree native to mainland Africa and Madagascar, the branches point to the ground. Some of the legends Cudjo mentions are actually real things I read about the Baobab tree when I was researching it .The rest of the names were chosen based purely on either how the word sounded or what they mean in English compared to what their role in the story was.