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Heart of darkness critical analysis
Heart of darkness analysis
Heart of darkness analysis
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Dark Soul of Man Exposed in Heart of Darkness Conrad's setting of a "night journey" into the Congo becomes an appropriate metaphor. This "Heart of Darkness" that Marlow penetrates of the heart of darkness contained in every man. The insights gained by Marlow into the condition of the human heart are the same insights gained by a careful, thoughtful reader. As Marlow makes his way to Kurtz's camp and his knowledge of this savage land is deepened, so is our understanding of the inherent darkness within every man. The discovery is this: In our deepest nature, all men are savage. The name Kurtz, which is German for short, has symbolic meaning. The physical shortness in Kurtz implies a shortness of character and spirit. His shortfalls are made apparent as Marlow learned more about him, "Mr. Kurtz lacked restraint in the gratification of his various lusts." Our enlightenment into the corruption of men's souls eventually becomes complete when Marlow meets Kurtz and finds out what Kurtz has really become, one with the land, devolved to a primitive state. Marlow and Kurtz could be considered as two conditions of human existence, Kurtz representing what Man could become if left to his own intrinsic devices outside protective society. Marlow, then, representing a pure untainted civilized soul who has not been drawn to savagery by a dark, alienated jungle. According to Conrad, the will to give into the uncivilized man does not just reside Kurtz alone. Every man has inside himself a heart of darkness. This heart is drowned in a bath of light shed by the advent of civilization. No man is an island, and no man can live on an island without becoming a brutal savage. Inside his heart lies the raw evil of untamed lifestyles.
In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad presents the character of Kurtz as a man who is seen differently by all who know him depending on their individual experiences with him. His cousin knew him as a man with great musical talent, others knew him as a great leader, and his “Intended” fiance knew him as an admirable humanitarian; but all of these knew him to be a remarkable genius. When the narrator, Marlow, first hears of him, he is told that Kurtz is known as a great leader destined to hold high positions and fame. However, as he travels the river, he also learns that Kurtz has become insane during his time in the African jungle. After Marlow finally comes into contact with him, he discovers that Kurtz has become a god among the natives and has been brutally collecting the coveted ivory. Marlow finally convinces the deathly ill man to return to the ship where he finally dies. Upon his death, Kurtz’s facial expression causes Marlow to feel as though he may be seeing his entire life passing just before it ends; and finally, he murmurs his final words “The horror! The horror!” (Conrad, p. 64).
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Professionalism is important for health care practitioners because of the nature of the work. The healthcare field involves direct or indirect contact with people from different backgrounds. A healthcare practitioner needs to display professionalism because this is what a patient/society expects during the interactions. As a future medical Laboratory Scientist, I need professionalism to work within a team with fellow worker and health care practitioners in other areas. Professionalism is important in the relationship between doctors and nurses, as well as doctor/physician and Medical Laboratory
Kurtz does not want to return to society, he does not want to return to the world were people judge one another based on social issues. “Kurtz had apparently intended to return himself, the station being by that time bare of goods and stores, but after coming three hundred miles, had suddenly decided to go back, which he started to do alone in a small dugout with four paddlers, leaving the half-caste to continue down the river with the ivory.” (Conrad Pg. 52) Instead Kurtz returns to the wilderness and is able to judge himself. “I went no more near the remarkable man who had pronounced a judgement upon the adventures of his soul upon the earth.” (Conrad Pg. 118) Marlow looks upon these two actions as remarkable feat. Kurtz, through Marlow’s eyes was able to pronounce a judgement based upon his own actions rather than having society dictate them to him.
Kurtz becomes a source of light for Marlow in an otherwise dark place, the latter is driven to find Kurtz by a strong obsession. Marlow discovers the full capacity of his obsession when one of his crew dies, so that Marlow may reach the source of his light. As he journeys into the Congo, Marlow comes to discover ugly truth about himself and Kurtz. This has a great impact on Marlow and makes him a dynamic character. Marlow struggles throughout the novel to maintain some self restraint which everyone else seems to have lost out in the darkness. This use of light and dark is one of the most effective devises used by Conrad.
When Marlow finally reaches Kurtz he is in declining health. This same jungle which he loved, embraced and consumed with every ounce of his flesh had also taken its toll on him. Marlow finally meets the man whose name has haunted him on his river journey. Could this frail human be the ever so powerful Kurtz? The man who has journeyed into uncharted territories and has come back with scores of ivory and the respect of the native tribe. Yes, this was the very man and though he is weak and on his way to death his power still exudes from him.
Kurtz was a great man who discovered a flaw in himself while working in Africa. He lacked "restraint" to control the emerging dark side which he found within himself. He plumbs the depths of man's dark side -a side which civilization and culture represses - but is swallowed up, by these forces which eventually overcome him in the isolation of darkest Africa. He falls into unspeakable acts and experiences the primitive power and ecstasy and horror of man's uninhibited darkness. Marlow holds back from "the abyss," although he humbly takes no credit for this achievement, ascribing it to grace. Nonetheless, he comes away changed, even enlightened, by this glimpse into the deeper and darker mysteries of life. William Blake (and Sartre) suggests that the road to heaven leads through hell. Blake also saw the pursuit of truth and self awareness as an effort to combine the Innocence of the Lamb with the darker Passion of the Tyger, the two poles of man's and life's existence. Wisdom and enlightenment come to the one who effectively understands and harmonizes both sides of this human nature.
Before Marlow became a seaman, as an adult, he knew that part of his identity involved travel and escapades to the unknown, “ Now when I was a little chap I had a passion for maps. I would look for hours at South America, or Africa, or Australia, and lose myself in all the glories of exploration,” (Conrad 255). This quotation may not reveal who Marlow right away, but by knowing he had a passion for maps, and looked at hours at different countries, we can analyze that Marlow had the sense of adventure as a child. As that young child Marlow found his identity by sense of travel, “ At that time there were many blank spaces on the earth, and when I saw one that looked particularly inviting on a map ( but they all look that) I would put my finger on it and say, When I grow up I will go there,” (Conrad 255). From this we are able to glimpse who Marlow will most likely become, an adventurer, set to travel the world. As time passed and Marlow grew, his identity changed for the better. Unlike Marlow’s identity Kurtz’s identity did not change for the better, but for the worse, “ I seemed to hear the whispered cry, ‘ The horror! The horror!’,” (Conrad 306). With this quotation we are able to catch a glimpse of Kurtz’s life, part of his identity. These are his last words, but with these words you can tell that Kurtz realizes that what he has done in life is not good, but awful. Conrad
...s to look at Kurtz as a hero for all that he had accomplished, no matter how evil. Marlow?s obstacles as the hero are not the overcoming of a dragon or evil villain. It is the eternal battle of the story of a Hero versus Antihero. Marlow?s blindness to Kurtz?s impurities are both his strength and weakness. His ignorance to the greatness of his own qualities can best be stated one way: ?The Horror.?
In the heart of those we venerate, there is a place for evil. Pumped into it are the forces of evil that we do not see physically, as one’s reputation masks the malicious mind. Heart of Darkness presents Kurtz’s reputation and the way the characters within the novella see him. He is placed above many in the social hierarchy, and receives an almost Godly admiration from others, “‘Ah, so they talk of him down there,’ he murmured to himself. Then he began again assuring me that Mr. Kurtz was the best agent he had, an exceptional man of the greatest importance of the company.” (Conrad 32). Throughout the novella, Marlow is told of Kurtz’s reputation, though he has yet to meet him. The speaker in this text reinforces Kurtz’s reputation that has already been built up prior to Marlow’s arrival in the Congo. In the Congo, however, Kurtz’s race already puts forth a social dominance over the Natives. White people are seen as superior, which is cultural perception, nonetheless. Thus, Kurtz being white automatically gives him a reputation of righteous...
In the second phase of the work, the items were shown to a few experts in the field to assess the suitability of the test items in terms of face and content validity of the OI ( Optimism Index).On the basis of the various expert’s suggestions and reviews, certain items were deleted, modified and added which seemed more appropriate in the context of the variable being measured. Only those items were retained on which the experts had 100 percent concurrence with each other. Thus the face validity and content validity was achieved for the test.
... identity grow to be intertwined. Interestingly, Marlow and Kurtz are very comparable and several parallels can be drawn between them, yet their fates differentiate in the end. Kurtz’s fate is due to his lack of restraint but Marlow’s restraint only saves his life for the time being. They were both exposed to the dark side of human nature and both eventually realized that the real heart of darkness is buried in the inside of every individual.
Modernism began as a movement in that late 19th, early 20th centuries. Artists started to feel restricted by the styles and conventions of the Renaissance period. Thusly came the dawn of Modernism in many different forms, ranging from Impressionism to Cubism.
By the time Marlow and Kurtz meet, Marlow is already well aware of the similarities they share. Both are imperialists, and while Marlow detests the treatment of the natives by his employers (Belgian colonists), he also makes apparent his abhorrence toward the Africans. On the other hand, Kurtz abandons the pretense of helping the natives achieve civilization, as displayed by the Europeans. Instead, he adopts their customs and becomes their leader in the never-ending quest for ivory. "He began with the argument that we whites, from the point of development we had arrived at, 'must necessarily appear to them [savages] in the nature of the supernatural beings- we approach them with the might as of a deity' (Longman, 2000, p. 2226). Marlow also admired Kurtz' resourcefulness and survival skills, especially his perseverence through jungle fever. "The wilderness had patted him on the head....it had taken him, loved him, embraced him, got into his veins, consumed his flesh, and sealed his soul to its own by the inconceivable ceremonies of some devilish initiation. He was its spoiled and pampered favorite." (Longman, 2000, p. 2225).