The colonization of Africa, though often forgotten, could more accurately be remembered as the conquering of Africa. European countries often included many brutal and aggressive actions in order to overpower of the natives of the land. The economic benefits of the colonization were the motivation to most countries and individuals. In his novella, Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad illustrates the story of free spirit, Charlie Marlow, and his journey to the Congo and eventually his encounter with the manager of the Inner Station with an extensive reputation, Mr. Kurtz. Marlow’s anecdote exemplifies the true nature of those involved with the colonization, both positive and negative.
According to Conrad, a heart of darkness is an individual
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Unlike Kurtz, Marlow acts upon his own moral principles, whether they are ethically correct or not. Marlow clearly goes through mental contemplation when observing the “savages” of the land, developing a “kinship” with the natives even though he was raised in a time where he was conditioned to believe the natives did not amount to Marlow. Near the end of the text, even Marlow, who almost held Kurtz on a pedestal, realized the horror Kurtz had caused to the Inner Station and the natives, causing his tone toward Kurtz shifts from idolization to disgust. Marlow reflects, “If it had come to crawling before Mr. Kurtz, he crawled as much as the veriest savage of them all” (Conrad …show more content…
Even before Marlow begins his adventure, he feels uneasy unlike his other expeditions. While discussing the trip with his aunt, Marlow feels troubled about his aunt’s praise of the company. Throughout the discourse, Marlow thought, “I ventured to hint that the company was run for profit” (Conrad 10). After encountering the natives of the Congo for the first time, Marlow views them in an extremely inhuman outlook. He tells his audience that it was extremely difficult to accept that he was slightly related to him. This shows Marlow’s lack of compassion for human life. He is not just a product of his time; Marlow knows that these natives are also humans and yet he continues to segregate and dehumanize them.
Marlow even attempts to preserve Kurtz’s reputation at the end of the text, because it is possible that Marlow empathized and connected with Kurtz. Marlow reveres Kurtz as a “remarkable man”. Not to mention Marlow still views Kurtz through his god-like reputation, even after what he experienced. After almost praising Kurtz, Marlow confesses, “That is why I have remained loyal to Kurtz to the last” (Conrad 65). Even though Marlow realized the wrong Kurtz caused to the African community, he continues to adhere to what Kurtz
The things that Kurtz had both done and seen in his life were in fact horrible, but was something. that Marlow was able to see past. This is later clear by what is in. his thoughts as he talks to the woman. He condemns mankind as a whole with this statement. .
During Marlow's mission to find Kurtz, he is also trying to find himself. He, like Kurtz had good intentions upon entering the Congo. Conrad tries to show us that Marlow is what Kurtz had been, and Kurtz is what Marlow could become. Every human has a little of Marlow and Kurtz in them. Marlow says about himself, "I was getting savage (Conrad)," meaning that he was becoming more like Kurtz.
As a child, the unknown spaces of Africa enchanted Marlow. He would often lose himself “...in all the glories of exploration” (Conrad 21). As an adult Marlow, after shining light on those dark unknown spaces of Africa and it was no longer a blank space on a map, but a place of darkness, there was still one river that charmed him, “...a mighty big river, that you could see in a map, resembling an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, and its body at rest curving afar over a vast country, and its tail lost in the depths of the land” (Conrad 22). The river that charmed Marlow in his boyhood, allowed access into the heart of the African continent. As the main method of the Europeans transportation, travelling along the river enables Marlow to see both sides of the continent, the natives and the evil doings of Mr Kurtz. Marlow is able to see the truths of the evil in the world and where they reign. Marlow went into the Congo as an innocent sailor and after meeting Kurtz and listening to his ideas, “turned to the wilderness, not to Mr Kurtz, who...was as good as buried. And for a moment it seemed to [Marlow] that [he] was also buried in a vast grave of unspeakable secrets. [He] felt an intolerable weight oppressing on [his] breast, the smell of the damp earth, the unseen presence of victorious corruption, the darkness of an impenetrable night” (Conrad
This situation of waiting for Kurtz allows Marlow to fantasize about Kurtz and create a larger than life figure out of a man who he’s never met before. Soon Finding Kurtz becomes an all-out obsession for Marlow; even the night before they meet Kurtz, he wishes to press on despite the danger. Here the reader can see that Marlow is willing to get to Kurtz at all costs. When Marlow does finally make contact with Kurtz, his fantasy carries over into the person who he sees Kurtz as. Marlow is willing to overlook some of Kurtz’s shortcomings and is very willing to see his greatness. Marlow is obviously fond of Kurtz, as it can be seen in the passage when he speaks of Kurtz’s “unextinguishable gift of noble and lofty expression.” Here the reader can observe that Marlow is truly fond of Kurtz’s. The narrator even chooses to side with Kurtz against the manager; even though he hardly knows the man. Kurtz has also managed to get the native people to worship him as a god, and has mastered their language. This makes Marlow respect him even more. Marlow’s point of view allows him to foster both the reality and the fantasy of Kurtz, and though he is very fond of Kurtz, he is still able to see the truth in him as
Marlow’s thoughts are so consumed by Kurtz, that he is built up to be much more of a man than he truly is. In turn, Marlow is setting himself up for a let down. He says at one point, “I seemed to see Kurtz for the first time...the lone white man turning his back suddenly on the headquarters, on relief, on thoughts of home...towards his empty and desolate station”(P.32). When Marlow reaches Kurtz’s station, he begins to become disillusioned. He begins to hear about, and even see, the acts that Kurtz is committing, and becomes afraid of him. He sees in Kurtz, what he could become, and wants nothing to do with it. He does not want people to know he has any type of relationship with him, and says in response to the Russian, “I suppose that it had not occurred to him that Mr. Kurtz was no idol of mine.” (P.59). It is at this point that he begins to discover the darkness in his heart.
In Conrad's Heart of Darkness Marlow, the main character, symbolizes the positiveness of Imperialism. Marlow, as a character realizes the evil that negative Imperialism has caused and decides it is truly unnecessary. When Marlow states, "I had got a heavenly mission to civilize you," he expresses his good intentions to help the Africans progress and advance. Furthermore, when he says, "I was an impostor," Marlow recognizes the fact that he is an invader into a foreign land, yet he sticks to his moral values.
Marlow reinforces that Kurtz represents “ ‘all [of] Europe’ ” and that his immense wealth in ivory and including his role as a figurehead upon the natives serves as a representation of the European society as well. This representation of Kurtz by Marlow helps unravel his mystery by describing Kurtz as an emissary for Europe that will hopefully also unravel the problematic nuances of Europe in the future. Marlow arrives in the inner station and meets the Russian before Kurtz, the narrator on the Nellie with Marlow claims that the Russian “nodded with a nod full of mystery and wisdom” when he had told Marlow about his experiences with Kurtz (52). The Russian supports the mystery behind Kurtz as well by explaining impact he leaves upon him. This claim by the narrator elucidates that some of Kurtz’s “charm” rubs off on those who are fortunate enough to meet him, therefore describing Kurtz as a some kind of enrichment to life
In The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, a seaman named Marlow examines European imperialism before his very eyes and how it is affecting the natives in the area they are imperializing, which is the Belgian Congo. Conrad conveys to the reader that multiple people have multiple views on the natives and their habitat. On the other hand, Conrad also displays how the natives have different feelings for the Europeans that are intruding on their land. Through Marlow’s eyes, we see a very prospective view as he speaks of how he does not favor the treatment of the natives yet he does nothing to stop it. However, we are also able to see the viewpoints of others. Conrad shows us that the Europeans do not have feelings for the natives and their main motive is to gain more ivory.
In the novella, “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad, the journey taken to Africa reveals the true evils of European imperialism. Marlow, one of the travellers narrates the journey to the deep interior of Africa, taken by he and other Europeans to find Kurtz, the head of the ivory company. The natives of Africa can only be viewed as less than the Europeans, which adds to the evil they bring. Conrad displays this evil when the European men in the novella change as ivory consumes their own lives. Throughout the journey, the truth of Kurtz is also found, as he isn’t the man who he is thought to be by Marlow and the other Europeans.
In the beginning, Marlow is intrigued by the mystery of him. He frequently eavesdrops and takes note of what others disclose. When given any free time, such as when waiting for rivets to construct his ship, he thinks about Kurtz. Finally after meeting him and getting to know him his feelings change drastically. As Kurtz passes away the reader is able to observe Marlow’s underlying feelings. He explains Kurtz’s shallow nature explaining “My Intended, my station, my career, my ideas—these were the subjects for the occasional utterances of elevated sentiments.” This quote exemplifies strong diction- the repetition of words such as “my” capture the extent of how egotistical he was. Marlow conveys the impertinence of “wealth and fame” as the delusional dying man reflects on his previous judgments. On the other hand, diction such as “the shade of the original Kurtz” gives the image of the man that Kurtz once was creating the sense that Marlow is honoring Kurtz, a stark contrast to the reaction one would expect in light of Kurtz's actions. After his death, Marlow is left in control of maintaining Kurtz’s honor. Instead of telling others Kurtz’s satirized idea of "the noble cause" and "the cause of progress" which he used to justify killing, Marlow chooses to maintain his
...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.?
On one hand, Marlow is saved by his self-discipline while on the other hand Kurtz is doomed by his lack of it. Before Marlow embarked on his voyage to Africa, he had a different view. Due to propaganda, he believed that the colonization of the Congo was for the greater good. In his head, he judged that the people of Africa were savages and that colonization would bring them the elation and riches of civilization. Despite an apparent uneasiness, he assumed that restraint would function there.
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).
At the beginning of the novel, Marlow is traveling the jungle and the many scenes of life can be seen. Africa has seems to be taken over by many travelers which makes one wonder what is there ulterior motive? Africa is a third world country, which makes it easy for someone to come in and talk on their soapbox. It is very easy to tell that these men are not the biggest fans of colored people, so it is plausible that they have come to instill a sense of imperialism. As Marlow passes through the waters of the Congo it is easily visible the trouble of the natives. “Black shapes crouched, lay, sat between the trees, leaning against the trunks, clinging to the earth half coming out, half effaced with the dim light, in all the attitudes of pain, abandonment, and despair.” (20) Show that the holding of these colonies has started. The soldiers have come in and taken the inhabitants and are destroying them and taking from them the one thing they deserve over everything, life. The imperialists seem to not care about the Africans and are just there for their land.
This sight angers Marlow, and when he gets to Kurtz, it’s too late. Even he has been pulled in by the darkness. Conrad makes an effective distinction between Marlow and Kurtz.