A young boy's dream to become a sailor would soon allow him to witness the world, and its true nature. The boy would fascinate over maps in shop windows; always wanting to explore the uncharted areas of the world. As a young sailor Marlow once again spotted a map that would allow him to experience the "real" world. The world that he had never seen before and may not want to see, but his decision to become skipper of a steam boat that would travel the Congo forced him into the position. As Marlow first encounters the offices of "the Company" he is stricken with a sort of ominous and disturbed feeling, and knows that he may not ever come back from his journey on the Congo. Throughout the novella darkness seems to operate symbolically and existentially rather than purposely. The entire novella is centered around the theory that darkness blankets all the world, but this theory is not real rather its metaphorical meaning takes on a stronger course. The darkness that Marlow must face throughout the novella, starting with the company, symbolizes one man's journey to find who he really is and he finds this through darkness and an infatuation.
             The struggle to find himself is why he must explore the uncharted world. It is an outlet to his need to find who he really is, and by exploring the world he is exploring himself. "The North pole is one of those places" that Marlow has not found in himself, and may never because he "shall not try now." But, for the time being he is in Africa and traveling the Congo, a place in his mind who he has not yet found. And from the beginning he sees the darkness he must overcome, the jungle. The first introduction to Africa gives Marlow an uneasy feeling when he observes a small battleship firing into the vast and dominant jungle. And it is not obvious who the small ship is firing at, and to Marlow it seems as tho
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