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The role played by Kurtz in the novel Heart of Darkness
The role played by Kurtz in the novel Heart of Darkness
Negative impact of colonialism
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Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness follows Marlow, “the only man,” who “still follow[s] the sea,” (11) as he recounts his mystery-fuelled journey through the unearthly and savage Congo. As Marlow ventures into “the heart” of “conquering darkness,” (69) his quest to meet Kurtz, a proclaimed “universal genius,” (68) becomes riddled with puzzle pieces, that guide his mental and physical journey to a climatic finish. Throughout his journey, Marlow becomes exposed to the atrocities that lie within the daunting heart of darkness such as imperialism and the tragic effects it has on its victims. The fundamental mystery of Kurtz’s identity and the clues throughout the investigation, propel Marlow to a climactic epiphany, showcasing the theme that darkness only exists in the hearts of men.
As, Marlow reaches the Outer Station -- the first stop during his “investigation” where he meets the chief accountant a “white man,” with “unexpected elegance,” who later
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After leaving the Inner Station, Marlow’s realizes that Kurtz’s “was an impenetrable darkness,” and he looked at him as you “peer down at a man,” lying at the “bottom of a precipice where the sun never shines,” (65) and sees a “change,” that “came over,” Kurtz’s features a change that he hopes to “never see again” (65) a “moment of complete knowledge,” as if he had lived “his life again in every detail,” that drives him to cry out twice ‘The Horror! The Horror!’ (66). Kurtz’s final climactic realization reveals that he [Kurtz] has been consumed by the terrors of imperialism, he allowed himself to be completely and utterly immersed and became the epitome of imperialism. His final epiphany also leads Marlow to his ultimate realization that darkness only exists in the hearts of men because during his final moments Kurtz was able to view all of the darkness inside of his heart which led him to cry out “The Horror! The Horror!”
Heart of Darkness is a book soaked with meaning, but the most prevalent theme is that of darkness. This motif is evident through the physical blackness of nature during the excursion, Kurtz’s mind and mannerisms in his final moments, and the everyday turpitude with which Marlow has grown
...o, while the novella’s archetypal structure glorifies Marlow’s domination of Kurtz. These two analyses taken together provide a much fuller and more comprehensive interpretation of the work. Conrad presents the idea that there is some darkness within each person. The darkness is is inherited and instinctual, but because it is natural does not make it right. He celebrates – and thereby almost advises – the turn from instinct. By telling Marlow’s tale, Joseph Conrad stresses to his audience the importance of self-knowledge and the unnecessity of instinct in civilization.
In Heart of Darkness, the main character Marlow is being exposed to a whole new side of the world. He is on a trip down the Cong...
Imperialism is the act of one country overtaking another country. Often, the motive behind this is for resources, as portrayed in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Other times, a country may want to expand their territories, or force their beliefs and customs on another land. This is seen in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. In Apocalypse Now, protagonist Jerry Willard is sent on a confidential mission during the Vietnam War. While voyaging up the river, Willard notices the excessive tactics used by the Americans. America advertised that they went to war with Vietnam to prevent the spread of communism. However, it is obvious that throughout most imperialistic literature the group colonizing natives are the true savages. Considering that this theme is frequent among imperialistic writing, one may assume that imperialism is a violent, unnecessary concept used by brutes with no sense of open-mindedness. One may deduce that America may have had an ulterior motive in attempting to take over Vietnam. In Conrad's Heart of Darkness, imperialism is viewed by Marlow as aggressive and insincere. Marlow often notes that the so-called savages show more restraint than the "civilized" men. In Conrad's novel, the genuine reasoning for pillaging African villages is to rob the land of it's most precious resource, ivory. Though, these pieces are contrasting in style, time period, and reasoning; the two works compliment each other and show the horrors of imperialism through the eyes of someone witnessing it.
Heart of Darkness is Joseph Conrad's tale of one man's journey, both mental and physical, into the depths of the wild African jungle and the human soul. The seaman, Marlow, tells his crew a startling tale of a man named Kurtz and his expedition that culminates in his encounter with the "voice" of Kurtz and ultimately, Kurtz's demise. The passage from Part I of the novel consists of Marlow's initial encounter with the natives of this place of immense darkness, directly relating to Conrad's use of imagery and metaphor to illustrate to the reader the contrast between light and dark. The passage, although occurring earlier on in the novel, is interspersed with Marlow's two opposing points of view: one of naïveté, which comes before Marlow's eventual epiphany after having met Kurtz, and the matured perspective he takes on after all of the events leading up to his and Kurtz's encounter.
During section two of Heart of Darkness, Marlow's professional skills, morals, and work ethics are contrasted with those of the other company employees. To Marlow, work represents the fulfillment of a contract between himself and the company he is working for. Repairing the st...
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a novel about a man named Marlow and his journey into the depths of the African Congo. Marlow is in search of a man named Kurtz, an ivory trader. Though Marlow?s physical journey seems rather simple, it takes him further into his own heart and soul than into the Congo. The setting, symbols and characters each contain light and dark images, these images shape the central theme of the novel.
In Joseph Conrad’s short story, “Heart of Darkness,” the narrator, Marlow language, and point of view to convey the conflicting emotions he has about Kurtz due to the image he fabricated Kurtz to be, and the reality of Kurtz. Marlow’s language throughout the piece reveals to the reader how he feels about Kurtz and how he perceives Kurtz’s actions. Marlow’s point of view also allows him to support both of his perceptions of Kurtz because he doesn’t see only bad or only good in
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.
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 observes many kinds of abuse of power by other whites, simply because they have better weapons of war. When the manager severely battered a young black boy for the burnt shed, Marlow disapproves. However, when he sees abuse and unjust treatment, he does not physically try to stop it. Instead, he just turns away and accepts that it is happening.
Both Marlow and Captain Willard were fully warned and well aware of the evils each would encounter. However he chooses to ignore this aspect in hopes of satisfying his curiosity. His curiosity about the unknown realm drives him to cross the line between civilized human behavior and enters a nightmarish world. In this nightmare world he realizes the horror of human nature as he sees over the edge of sanity and discovers what he could become, Kurtz.
In this frenzy though they lose sight of what effect they are giving to the natives of the land. This harassment and discrimination spreads hate and despair among everyone in the region. When Marlow first gets off his boat and sets foot at the Outer Station, he states, “I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were connected like the knots in a rope; each had an iron collar on his neck, and all were connected together with a chain whose bights swung between them rhythmically clinking” (pg. 12, para. 4). Marlow is the first person to recognize the ill treatment of these African Americans who have just been turned into slaves. This insatiable greed that everyone in the Company possesses is hindering them from seeing the true outcome of darkness. The lives of the natives are changed to a poor, rib-cage showing hunger, and lack of even basic freedoms and rights. Nobody even ponders the question or look at the point of view of the natives; if they did they will surely see the wretchedness in their
"Heart of Darkness , which follows closely the actual events of Conrad's Congo journey, tells of the narrator's fascination by a mysterious white man, Kurtz, who, by his eloquence and hypnotic personality, dominates the brutal tribesmen around him. Full of contempt for the greedy traders who exploit the natives, the narrator cannot deny the power of this figure of evil who calls forth from him something approaching reluctant loyalty."[1]
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
Furthermore, throughout the book the author used diction, syntax, and tone to create a desired effect on the audience. Marlow completed his task of finding Kurtz and gained a new perspective on the different ways of mankind. The Reader is able to observe this by the vivid detail included, way the novel is structured, and feelings expressed by the characters that overall create an intriguing