Journey to the End of the Night

Bardamu is terrified that the company will hold him accountable for Robinson’s desertion. He contracts a fever. As he lies in his sickbed, he suffers from paranoid fever dreams. Big storms ravage his small hut and leave him cold and wet. Having learned to light a fire, Bardamu accidentally burns down the hut and all the merchandise. Wondering where to go next, he decides to head into the bush following Robinson’s path. Relying on the local people for help, Bardamu wanders through the dense forest. When his fever is very bad, they even carry him. Eventually, they deliver him to a hospital run by a priest in the Spanish colonial outpost of San Tapeta. Still suffering from malaria, Bardamu struggles to comprehend what is happening to him. He finds himself onboard a ship and realizes that he has been sold to a sea captain who has gambled that he will recover and work the oars of the ship. Bardamu recovers enough to join the other oarsmen, wondering whether Robinson is among them. For weeks, they sail across the Atlantic until they reach New York City. There, the ship is put into quarantine, but Bardamu has no interest in being confined.