Marlow's physical journey moves into the central station while Marlow is psychologically starting to move from his super ego to just his ego, as the darkness becomes more pertinent and his actions become more rational and selfish as Marlow does what he can to survive. The ego's importance and capabilities are illurateated by Murfin, and we can see his influence as Conrad wrote the novella the same time period as Murfins and Freuds discovery. “Ego was his term for the predominately rational, logical, orderly, conscious part." (Murfin 114). The Ego's main features of consciousness and rational are temporary instilled in Marlow's actions while he is in the central station which effectively exemplifies how Marlow not only has a physical journey but also a physiological journey as well as Condrad penetrates the reader into Marlow's subconscious. As Marlow arrives at the central station, his actions become more geared for self survival and is more rational when events occur that possibly could alter his journey. "I listened, I listened…He did not make bricks, Rivets, to get on with the work-stop the hole." (Conrad 389). Marlow's ship has sunk and he needs to fix the hole before he proceeds into the darkness. Marlow does not panic or over react, Marlow stays calm and relaxed and his rational kicks in to remind him that the best way to fix the boat is with Rivets. Marlow's patience and logic even when an unanticipated event occurs, demonstrates Marlow's attentiveness and how Marlow's ego and desperation for survival leads to a successful solution to Marlow's unfortunate predicament. Marlow's ego takes over which allows him to solve the problem lociagally and rationally which effectively can only be done while in the central station as Conrad penetrates Marlow's subconscious to new heights as he becomes closer to darkness and his dream like id. . Marlow's desires are as well repressed into the ego, theory of repression, in the central station where he must deal with reality for one of the last times before his id takes over his actions. "Eldorado Exploring Expedition…reckless without hardihood, greedy without audacity, and creul without courage…to tear treasure out of the bowels" (Conrad 392). The ego is supressing Marlow's desires of conquest and of raid and success, this reality principle effectively is contradicted as we see Marlow chastise the Eldorado exploration in the central station, but idolize Kurtz in the inner station, even though Kurtz is more amoral then the expedition. Marlow is rational and realizes the horrid actions of the Eldorado expedition and that rational is what conveys Marlow's ego, although there are no rules in the congo, Marlow takes the rational side even though the unrational id could have easily been taken, which effectively illuminates that the reason he is in his ego is because of his location of the central station.
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