Extract from Heart Of Darkness

 

One evening coming in with a candle I was startled to hear him say a little tremulously, ”l am lying here in the dark waiting for death". The light was within a foot of his eyes. I forced myself to murmur, "Oh, non­sense!“ and stood over him as if transfixed.

Anything approaching the change that came over his fea­tures I have never seen before, and hope never to see again. Oh I wasn’t touched. I was fascinat­ed. It was as thought veil had been rent. I save on that ivory face the expression of sombre pride, of ruthless power, of craven terror - of an intense and hopeless de­spair. Did he live his life again in every detail of desire, temptation, and surrender during that su­preme moment of complete knowl­edge? He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision - he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath –

"The horror! The horror!“

I blew the candle out and left the cabin. The pilgrims were dining in the mess-room, and I took my place op­posite the manager, who lifted his eyes to give me a questioning glance, which I successfully ignored. He leaned back, serene, with that pecu­liar smile of his sealing the unex­pressed depths of his meanness. A continuous shower of small flies streamed upon the lamp, upon the cloth, upon the hands and faces. Suddenly the manager’s boy put his insolent black head in the doorway, and said in a tone of scathing con­tempt -

’’Mistah Kurtz - he dead“.

All the pilgrims rushed out to see.

I remained and went on with my din­ner. I believe I was considered bru­tally callous. However, I did not eat much. There was a lamp in there - light, don’t you know - and outside it was so beastly, beastly dark. I went no more near the remarkable man who had pronounced a judgement upon the adventures of his soul on this earth. The voice was gone. What else had been there? But I am of course aware that next day the pil­grims buried something in a muddy hole.

 

Graham Greene

The Quiet American

Characters:

Thomas Fowler

Alden Pyle

Phuong

The Story

Pyle is a doctor working in an aid mission. In reality. P is the “quiet American”, a CIA agent working under cover. He is member of so-cold Third Force.. Pyle has stolen F’s mistress, Ph, able to offer her the dream of marriage and a home in America. He has also become involved in subversive political activities, directing funds to a small guerrilla army under the nationalist General the in the mistaken belief that it will help the straggle against Communism. When F learns that the “quiet” American has played a part in a bomb explosion in a local café, he lays in for motion against him which prompts his murder. Vigof, the Surete officer, appears after the event in order to investigate, the end of the novel, F retrieves Ph, now in a position to marry her, he feels some remorse about the death of quiet American.