“I believed it in the same way one might believe there are inhabitants in the planet Mars…walking on all fours…” (pg. 32)
Obviously, during the 19th century, little was known about extraterrestrial life. However, during this time period there was much speculation and interest concerning alien life, yet the only thing that remotely related to it were characters from myth. The Congo River and its surrounding rainforests, for example, were known as the mysterious lands of mythical beasts. Later in the story, Marlow gives support to this belief by describing the region as “a prehistoric earth…an earth that wore the aspect of an unknown planet.” By describing it as such, Conrad intensifies the setting and allows the reader to envision the obscurity of the region.
"Search For Alien Life No New Thing - Space News - redOrbit." RedOrbit. Web. 12 Aug. 2009. http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1630742/search_for_alien_life_no_new_thing/
"The Congo River." Rainforests. Web. 12 Aug. 2009. http://rainforests.mongabay.com/congo/congo_river.html
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