The manager appears essentially indifferent and slightly rude to Marlow. The unnamed manager is the head of the Central Station, keeping his position because he has outlived everyone else and has a knack of making those around him "uneasy." Marlow says, "He was neither civil nor uncivil. He was quiet. He allowed his 'boy'...to treat the white men...with provoking insolence."
His self-absorption makes him ignore the fact Marlow is tired and extremely hungry. The manager...
The manager appears essentially indifferent and slightly rude to Marlow. The unnamed manager is the head of the Central Station, keeping his position because he has outlived everyone else and has a knack of making those around him "uneasy." Marlow says, "He was neither civil nor uncivil. He was quiet. He allowed his 'boy'...to treat the white men...with provoking insolence."
His self-absorption makes him ignore the fact Marlow is tired and extremely hungry. The manager just wants to know how long it will take to repair the steamship. But the question is moot because the manager has already decided it should take three months. "Let us say three months. Yes. That ought to do the affair."
The pilgrims are not actually religious missionaries. They are the agents for the Central Station, determined to make as much money as possible through the ivory trade. However, they are not doing a lot of work to really get ahead. Marlow calls them pilgrims because they carry staves and wear loose clothing.
When Marlow first meets the Pilgrims, he realizes the pilgrim he is talking to is pumping him for information. He keeps asking Marlow questions about Europe and the people that sent Marlow to Africa. Marlow doesn't know what information the man wants. Finally the man "covers a gesture of fury with a yawn," and Marlow realizes the man thinks he (Marlow) is a liar.
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