Read the passage from heart of darkness by joseph conrad;
once, i remember, we came upon a man-of-war anchored off the coast. there wasn't even a shed their, and she was shelling the bush. it appears the french have one of their wars going on thereabouts. her in sign dropped limp like a rag; the muzzles of the long- pentagon stuck out all over the low hull; the greasy, slimy swell swong her lazy and let her down, swaying her thin masts. in the empty immensity of earth, sky, and water, there she was, incomprehensible, i firing into a continent. pop, would go one of the six-inch guns; a small flame with dark and vanish, a little white smoke would disappear, a tiny projectile would give a feeble screech- and nothing happened. nothing could happen. there was a torch of insanity in the proceeding, a sense of luxurious drillers in the sight, and it was not dissipated by somebody on board assuring me earnestly there was a camp of natives- he called them enemies! - hidden out of sight somewhere.
what is the main purpose of this passage? write a short argument to answer the question. develop your ideas by analyzing specific details from the passage. you are writing an argument, so be careful to include a clear thesis and to respond to at least one counter-argument.