The whole paragraph gives the readers a sense of discovery, of Marlow’s feeling of being exposed to a new world that he does not belong to. Marlow is transferred to a different world and tries to understand the unfamiliarity of Africa. In describing, “the earth seemed unearthly”, Marlow expresses that this place is unfamiliar to him; therefore, he feels like a stranger here. It also shows the first contradiction in the passage; the paradoxical meaning between “earth” and “unearthly” represents his confusion between his past and his presence, between the reality and the unreality. Marlow states that as time passes by he gets used to "the shackled form of a conquered monster", which relates to the old image of many natives having to follow the orders of white man. At the same time, these native people are also "monstrous and free”. These two strong adjectives show that Marlow no longer feel safe here. This also gives an emergent tone for the passage, giving the readers the danger of going on a voyage to a new land and facing strange people. As Marlow feels that he will face new experiences, he uses such adjectives as “horrid”, “ugly”, or “inhuman” in order to reveal his feelings of alienation.
Races are also one of the main themes in this passage. By using the world “ugly, remote”, Marlow implies that the natives are not of familiar to him. Toward the end of the passage, he uses the adjectives “thick”, and “treacherous” in order to describe the water. The water is portrayed to be dangerous and shallow; the engine is compared with the word “devil”, which seems to imply the upcoming danger that Marlow has to face during his journey. These details contribute to the whole “perilous” tone of the passage. Marlow describes different feelings when he comes to Africa such as “joy, fear, sorrow,” The repetition of the word “truth” drives his curiosity for find the truths in his new world in Africa. Describing the fireman, a native person, Marlow compares him with an “improved specimen” and even mentions that he looks like “a dog in a parody of breeches and a feather hat walking on his hind legs”. The comparison between a person and a dog directly reflects the idea of racism in the passage. The peculiarity of the new land in relation with the feeling of being alienated in the land of “disaster” seems to be the reasons behind his racist views in the passage. Moreover, Marlow also describes the native by some undesirable words such as “filed teeth”, “poor”, “devil”, or “three ornamental scars”. Bringing some unwanted traits in native people, Marlow prioritizes his nationality and also his native land. This passage not only reveals Marlow’s feeling of being alienated but it also sketches out the image of this new land, the savage area of Africa.