Two kinds of devils

Read ¶ 38 of Part 1. For this blog, consider Marlow’s curious statement about devils.

You know I am not particularly tender; I’ve had to strike and to fend off. I’ve had to resist and to attack sometimes—that’s only one way of resisting—without counting the exact cost, according to the demands of such sort of life as I had blundered into. I’ve seen the devil of violence, and the devil of greed, and the devil of hot desire; but, by all the stars! these were strong, lusty, red-eyed devils, that swayed and drove men—men, I tell you. But as I stood on this hillside, I foresaw that in the blinding sunshine of that land I would become acquainted with a flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil of a rapacious and pitiless folly. How insidious he could be, too, I was only to find out several months later and a thousand miles farther.

What sort of man or men fit this description of a “flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil of a rapacious and pitiless folly”? Are there examples of them in Part 1? If so, who and why? Why does Marlow prefer the “strong, lusty, red-eyed devils, that swayed and drove men” over this breed? Are there any examples of the strong & lusty sort to be found in Part 1, or anywhere else for that matter? Who, if any—and why?

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That's the blog assignment. For Monday's conversation in class, think also about these topics and note the appropriate passages in your text:

Think also about these:

• The continuing contrasts of dark & light
• Contrast between the representatives of “civilization” and the "enemies" who work for them and receive punishment from them. With whom does Marlow chiefly empathize, even if his comprehension is imperfect?
• Contrast between the representatives of “civilization” and the wilderness that surround them, opposed to the relation that the natives carry on with the same wilderness.
• Atmosphere: a nebulous yet distinct product of diction, phrasing and description. In this work it is especially powerful.
• Striking pairs. Examples—Marlow’s ¶13 with the 1^st narrator’s ¶ 6. The torch becomes the “idea; and an unselfish belief in the idea…” OR Two black hens, ¶21 and the two “Fates” ¶23 & 25
• Irony that borders on humor. (Maybe Conrad doesn't get enough credit for his sense of humor). Examples—The death of Fresleven, ¶21. “The supernatural being had not been touched after he fell.” OR The old doctor who measures heads ¶27 OR ¶51 The drunken officer “looking after the upkeep of the road…” though, Marlow says, “Can’t say I saw any road or any upkeep, unless the body of a middle-aged negro, with a bullet-hole in the forehead, upon which I absolutely stumbled three miles farther on, may be considered as a permanent improvement.”