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Critical Analysis of Heart of Darkness
Character of Kurtz in heart of darkness by Joseph conard
Character of Kurtz in heart of darkness by Joseph conard
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Recommended: Critical Analysis of Heart of Darkness
Kurtz’s last words are as ambiguous as they are terrifying. “The horror! The horror!” They may reveal a vision or just some madness induced outcry. Nevertheless, it is apparent that Kurtz has gone insane. Oxford dictionaries define insane as “in a state of mind that prevents normal perception, behavior, or social interaction.” His deteriorating physical appearance emits sickness as well as madness. Also, due to the lack of restraint, Kurtz assumes a god-like position as he takes control of various African villages that worship him. Paradoxically, the stated mission of the Company to civilize the natives turns into the literal and figurative degeneration of Kurtz. However, it’s certainly not as simple as “Kurtz goes into the jungle. Heads on sticks result.” Conrad uses him as an extreme example of what happens to people when they are taken away from their structured environment. Kurtz is an embodiment of madness that represents the effects of removal from society.
One of the effects of living in the wilderness is physical alteration. Kurtz is deathly ill by the time that Marlow’s steamboat can “rescue” him. Kurtz transforms into the very object he craves—ivory, with his bald, white head (Cox, 1974). He is sharply visualized to show his sickness: an “animated image of death” more than anything (Guerard, 1986). His ribs and bones stick out of his decrepit body to emphasize his illness. The physical changes reflect the spiritual and psychological battle that Kurtz struggles with. Marlow’s journey in Africa has also left him knocking on death’s door. Though the physical illness eventually leaves Marlow, his soul is haunted from the horrific incidents he encounters.
Without the restraints of society, temptation exists to give into pri...
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...m. (pp.239-242). New York, NY: Norton & Company.
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Watts, Cedric. 'Heart of Darkness.' The Cambridge Companion to Joseph Conrad. Ed. J.H. Stape. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. 45-62.
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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).
Guetti, James. ‘Heart of Darkness and the Failure of the Imagination’, Sewanee Review LXXIII, No. 3 (Summer 1965), pp. 488-502. Ed. C. B. Cox.
Henrikson, Bruce. "Heart of Darkness and the Gnostic Myth." Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness: Modern Critical Interpretations. Edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. 45-56.
Conrad, J. (2006). Heart of darkness. In P. B. Armstrong (Ed.), Heart of darkness (4th ed., p. 50). New York London: Norton Critical Editions.
Conrad, Joseph. "Heart of Darkness." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams et al. 6th ed. vol. 2. New York: Norton, 1993. 1759-1817.
Levenson, Michael. "The Value of Facts in the Heart of Darkness." Nineteenth-Century Fiction 40 (1985):351-80.
Kurtz once was considered an honorable man, but living in the Congo separated from his own culture he changed greatly. In the jungle he discovers his evil side, secluded from the rest of his own society he becomes corrupted by power. "My Ivory. My people, my ivory, my station, my river," everything was under Kurtz's reign. While at Kurtz's camp Marlow encounters the broken roof on Kurtz's house, the "black hole," this is a sign of the uncivilized. The black hole represents the unknown and unconquered, and therefore represents the uncivilized. Also, Marlow notices the "black heads" on Kurt...
Kurtz's character is fully facet (in Conrad's Heart of Darkness), not because of his conventional roll of antagonist, but for his roll in a historical fiction as a character with important roll in society, influenced by those close to him. Kurtz makes some key developments in the way he interacts with others, in large part due to the words and actions of society and Kurtz's acquaintances.
The Heart of Darkness, a complex text was written by Joseph Conrad around the 19th century, when Europeans were colonizing Africa for wealth and power and were attempting to spread their culture and religion in Africa. It was also a period in which women were not allowed to participate in worldly affairs. Therefore, the text deals with issues such as racism, European imperialism, and misogyny. This essay will look at the different themes in the novel and argue whether or not The Heart of Darkness is a work of art.
Power this is what kept Kurtz in the jungle for such a long period of time. Determined not to become another causality he becomes allies with the natives through fear. Kurtz is a brilliant man who did not have to adapt to his environment but had it adapt to him. On top of a hill his hut is surrounded by the heads of men who have betrayed in him some sort, this serves as a reminder to anyone who contemplates going against his wish.
* Conrad, Joseph. “Heart of Darkness” in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, M.H. Abrams, general editor. (London: W.W. Norton, 1962, 2000)
Beckoning readers closer, the gloomy foreboding of a mysterious darkness has typically been indicative of an antagonist or a horror that is to follow, and the glory of a shining light has signified a positive connotation. The pair is often utilized to express an author’s ideas and theme and Joseph Conrad uses the two paradigms liberally in his interpretation of European colonialism in Heart of Darkness. While Conrad employs the typical binary of light and darkness as positive and negative forces, respectively, he also challenges this notion by exposing the contradictions of misdeeds done in light and the portrayal of darkness as a sanctuary.
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).