Heart of Darkness: Paragraph 82

"We had enlisted some of these chaps on the way for a crew. Fine fellows--cannibals--in their place." When the cannibals are hired to pilot the ship, Marlow sarcastically labels the cannibals as "fine fellows"; however, since Marlow's tone is hard to uncover sometimes, the sarcasm may depict his true anxiety about the journey. Cannibals are not typically known to be 'fine fellows' so the sarcasm states the irony accurately, but Marlow's mysterious uncertainty adds to the savage Africa he is exploring. Since the atmosphere is dark, Marlow's sarcastic humor adds to the one as well because it is unclear as well.