Journey Without Maps Part Three

[Betty]

Mission Station--'Civilized Man'--The Dictator of Grand Bassa--The Last Lap--Postscript in Monrovia

[Betty]

Mission Station

The modern 'sense of sin' versus the Africans' living without a sense of sin before the missionaries, who posited an evil Satan opposite a good God; whereas the Liberian devil isn't evil or good, but controlling and powerful.

Outside of Zubei, Greene observes the sacred waterfall of the rainbow snake. A "rainbow shimmer in the falling water" was once worshipped there with human sacrifices.

With his carriers and money dwindling, Greene is anxious to reach the coast, .

"...now all I wanted was medicine, a bath, iced drinks, and something other than this bush lavatory of trees and dead leaves whereat any moment I might crouch upon a snake in the darkness."

He examines Dr Harley's collection of masks. Harley studies secret bush societies--Leopard Society, Alligator Society, Terrapin Society, Snake Society, other cannibalistic societies--especially prevalent in Liberia.

Greene brings in at least two references to European literature to the themes of imagination and evil, Olga's imagining Klamm from "distorting images' in Kafka's The Castle, and Henry James's The Turn of the Screw, having the evil character Peter Quint.

Greene's lifetime of dreaming initially is an amorphous power which wants to enter his house. Later, the power takes varied form. Another recurring dream is the "Princess of Time", who carries poisoned flowers. Evil characters--man, crone, gory man--develop late in his life