Analysis Of Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

859 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis on joseph conrads heart of darkness

In Joseph Conrad’s unforgettable novel, Heart of Darkness, the profound words of Mr. Kurtz are a judgement of his malevolent life and of humanity in general. “The horror! The horror!” are the uttered words of Kurtz as he returned with Marlow from his civilization in Africa. Conrad left the words open for interpretation, leaving many readers feeling indifferent. As Kurtz encountered death, he reflected on his past and was fond of leaving the diabolical world that he inhabited. He was pleased to be dying due to his own evil, greedy actions as well as the inequality within humanity. On Kurtz’s deathbed, he was prepared to leave the darkness of his life behind. He judged his selfish, greedy, and heartless past which caused his words, “The horror! …show more content…

“Everything belonged to him—but that was a trifle. The thing was to know what he belonged to, how many powers of darkness claimed him for their own. That was the reflection that made you creepy all over. It was impossible—it was not good for one either—trying to imagine” (Conrad 44). Kurtz believed everything belonged to him both physically and mentally. Kurtz’s employment was unknown; this symbolized that he was important in many ways to people and held a position of many occupations. Darkness rested within his hands. Kurtz had a passion for exploring, specifically in Africa, so he made himself a God-like figure to the people of the inner station. He also held the position of a first-class agent. He submerged as much power as possible in hope for …show more content…

The author’s scenes of interpretation follow his reasoning for creating such a historic novel that causes many disputes from people all over the world. In Joesph Conrad’s unforgettable novel, Heart of Darkness, Kurtz last words, or the reason Marlow lied to Kurtz’s mistress about his last words being her name, will never be completely answered. Upon Kurtz’s encounter with death, he uttered the words “The horror! The horror!” as a result of reflecting on his own character and of humanity in general. Due to his own cruelty and the horrendous world that humankind created, he was pleased to be leaving every aspect

Show More
Related

  • Mr. Kurtz: A Symbol of Colonial Atrocities in Congo

    263 Words  | 1 Pages

    Mr. Kurtz is a character in Konrad Korzenioski’s, a river captain in the Congo, scathing novel Heart of Darkness. Writing under his pen name Joseph Conrad, the main character Marlow journeys to a Congo post where he meeting Mr. Kurtz, a man who bears many similarities to agents of King Leopold’s II crimes. In the novel, the narrator encounters a fence displayed with shrunken African heads in front of the house of Mr. Kurtz. Horchschild states that this “Inner Station” that Marlow sees is based on Korzenioski’s encounter at the Congo port Stanley Falls. This is corroborated by the fact that George Washington Williams, a journalist who experienced Stanley Falls around the same time Korzenioski was said to be there. Both writers detail the atrocities

    Read More

  • Heart Of Darkness By Joseph Conrad Rhetorical Analysis

    324 Words  | 1 Pages

    The message or theme in the book is that greed will never benefit you in any way but will instead hurt you. Kurtz was overwhelmed by his greed to conquer and take what was most precious to him, ivory. His greed for ivory caused him to become ill and mad. His greed was what caused his “dark heart.” The book states “He died as he lived,” which was ironically true due to the fact that the character stating this was oblivious to how Kurtz really did live out his

    Read More

  • Running into Darkness in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness

    535 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kurtz had seen the true heart of man, and he knew of the evil. In his

    Read More

  • Apocalypse Now vs Heart of Darkness

    1123 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...e horror!'") and Kurtz's memory for the rest of his life. By turning himself into an enigma, Kurtz has done the ultimate: he has ensured his own immortality.” Kurtz’s status as an enigma serves to propagate an endless number of interpretations. Could his words be a declaration of the horrific dark side of man that lives within us all? Could they be a reaction to his first glimpse of the afterlife? Could they be a regretful look back on a life of sin? Kurtz’s last words leave the reader to draw his or her own conclusions about their meaning. Conrad does not tell us what to think, he makes us think. That is the sign of great art. Those very same words, however, when spoken by Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now, hold far less meaning. The fact that Willard makes the decision to kill Kurtz convinces the audience of Kurtz’s insanity, and his words can be most literally interpreted as a reaction to his own murder. These words, meant to hold the most impact of all dialogue in either work, serve as an accurate metaphor for the works as a whole. Conrad’s Heart of Darkness forces its reader into meaningful introspection, while Apocalypse Now fails to capture the depth of Conrad’s vision.

    Read More

  • Heart Of Darkness Morally Ambiguous Character Essay

    1433 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Heart of Darkness, all of Joseph Conrad’s characters seem to have morally ambiguous tendencies. The most prominently morally ambiguous character is Kurtz, whose distance from society changes his principles, and leads him to lose all sense of decorum. Conrad takes a cynical tone when describing Marlow's journey. Marlow's voyage through the Congo gives him insight to the horrific, dehumanizing acts that his company and Kurtz conduct. Conrad creates a parallel with the tone of his writing and the misanthropic feelings that the main character experiences. Furthermore, Conrad creates a frame story between Kurtz and Marlow, adding to the symbolism and contrast between contextual themes of light and dark, moral and immoral, and civilization and wilderness. After being sent on a horrific journey into the Congo of Africa, as an agent for the Company to collect ivory, Marlow finds the infamous and mysterious Kurtz. Kurtz, who has totally withdrawn from society, and has withdrawn

    Read More

  • Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Through a Freudian Lens

    1207 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...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.

    Read More

  • Comparing Truth In Dante's Inferno And Heart Of Darkness

    709 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Heart of Darkness, Kurtz is a symbol of truth and brutality. Due to Kurtz’s love for truth and brutality, his actions that develope his reputation are driven by his perception of truth, the only way to live is through power and brutality. One example of Kurtz’s actions being dictated by his perception of truth is the ornamental heads Marlow finds when he reaches the inner station, we find that Kurtz has used his

    Read More

  • The Mystery of Kurtz in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness

    386 Words  | 1 Pages

    Kurtz was an English man who traveled to the Congo in search of excitement, money and experience. To many people back home, he was known to be a loving intelligent young man. In Congo he was also known as being very intelligent, but also as being insane. The question is what happened to Kurtz how and why he let his self go insane. In a way you can say that he found the “heart” of his “darkness,” embraced it and could not escape it.

    Read More

  • The Powerful Voice of Kurtz in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness

    1022 Words  | 3 Pages

    In German “kurtz” means short. What Kurtz actually says is plain and terse, but appalling. It is not hidden behind words, but revealed within Kurtz’s own voice and scribbled in margins. However, it is the voiceless words, the written words, the lies, and not the note scribbled by his own voice that Kurtz asks Marlow to preserve. By wanting to preserve his report, Kurtz acknowledges the power of written words. He knows that besides Marlow’s memory, writing is the only thing that can begin to immortalize him. But, perhaps, Kurtz’s knowledge is meant to die along with his voice.

    Read More

  • Loss of Innocence in Heart of Darkness

    1713 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Fiction of Language: It is Inherently Unreal

    1054 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most noted for use of language in Heart of Darkness is Kurtz, whom Marlow regards as remarkable purely for his ability to speak eloquently. At one point in his journey, realizing Kurtz is likely to be dead, Marlow states: “I didn't say to myself, 'Now I will never see him,' or 'Now I will never shake him by the hand,' but, 'Now I will never hear him’” (Conrad 123). Yet when one consciously examines what Kurtz actually says in the novel, it becomes apparent that although his words sound artistic and profound, they are in reality incredibly ambiguous and devoid of meaning. It can be concluded that eloquence and delivery, rather than intrinsic value, fuelled the false grandiosity of Kurtz’s ideas. Nonetheless, those who do hear Kurtz speak overlook the emptiness of Kurtz’s words and are deceived by his eloquence — most notably the Russian trader, who claims Kurtz has “enlarged his mind” (123). Inca...

    Read More

  • The Deception Of Kurtz In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Syntax In Heart Of Darkness

    745 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the beginning, the author describes Kurtz as evil when he states, “The thing was to know what he belonged to, how many powers of darkness claimed him for their own. That was the reflection that made you creepy all over. It was impossible-it was not good for one either-trying to imagine. He had taken a high seat amongst the devils of the land-I mean literally" (82). The “powers of darkness” are taking over Kurtz; he is no longer in control of himself. The cynical and stark tone is revealed through Kurtz becoming the natives “God” since it leads him to being consumed by “darkness”. The tone trasnsitions as the story progresses to that of an understanding tone. Marlow once referred to the natives as “savages”; however, begins to describe them in a different light, “It was unearthly, and the men were—No, they were not inhuman. Well, you know, that was the worst of it—this suspicion of their not being inhuman. It would come slowly to one. They howled and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces; but what thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity—like yours—the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar. Ugly. Yes, it was ugly enough; but if you were man enough you would admit to yourself that there was in you just the faintest trace of a response to the terrible frankness of that noise, a dim suspicion of there being a meaning in it which you—you so remote from the night

    Read More

  • The Power of Kurtz in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness

    656 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kurtz is one of many men sent into the jungle to rape the land and its people of its natural resources.  Many men have journeyed into the jungle also refereed as the heart of darkness never to return.  Kurtz goes into the jungle and becomes obsessed with the people and the land.   Though Kurtz has an obsession with ivory this is not the sole reason for him to overstay his welcome in the jungle.

    Read More

  • The Inner Darkness In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    The horror! The horror!” (III, p. 178). There are many horrifying things in the world which are of all different orders of magnitude, from disasters that effect millions to insignificant fears of an individual: from catastrophes such as the holocaust to subtleties such as spiders. Conrad, in the Heart of Darkness shows each order, on it 's own level, all in one statement. The eminent Kurtz uttered the aforementioned quote as he was breathing his last, and incorporated all three levels of despair into his last two words. Through Kurtz ' words “The horror”, Conrad was not only displaying Kurtz ' inner darkness, but also the evil in the society, as well as the evil found in every man.

    Read More

More about Analysis Of Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

Open Document