Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness

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False God
Friedrich Nietzsche once provided one of the truest opinions on power that the world has ever heard when he said, “All things are subject to interpretation whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth”. The promises and truths that those who gain power spread to their people are not always for the greater good. The worst leaders of people are the ones that put more effort and thought into jerking off their own ego rather than putting any real heartfelt effort into helping their people. These sociopathic evil dictators use their power to try and brainwash the minds of people who have to live under them with their own beliefs and hidden agendas, foolishly believing that they are a “savior”. There has yet to be a situation with a leader of a community who has this type of unchecked power and influence with a happy ending. Perhaps the greatest story ever written about good vs. evil, madness, abuse of power along with influence, and nature just might be Heart of Darkness. Heart of Darkness, written by Joseph Conrad tells the story of an agent named Marlow, who experiences hellish conditions and behaviors whilst trying to rescue a man named Kurtz, who turns out to be quite a handful. Throughout this journey the moral ramifications of both Kurtz and Marlow’s actions are left to be interpreted by the audience after Kurtz goes mad and becomes the catalyst of the events that transpire throughout the plot. Conrad uses his real life events along with themes of greed, power, and obsession to show what causes Kurtz who acts a symbol for the leaders of the real world to go mad and abuse power.
Before divulging into the question as to what changed Kurtz, it is important to look at what infl...

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...ady addicted to ivory but he also got a taste of the power of bullying people into submission and became addicted to the power as well. Greed, obsession, and a taste of real life altering power, are what seduced Kurtz and changed him.

Works Cited

Guo, Deyan. "A World of Lies in Heart of Darkness." Journal of Language Teaching and Research 2.4 (2011). Web. 17 May 2014. ..

"Joseph Conrad Biography." Cliff Notes. Web. 18 May 2014. .

Zhao, Jiping. "The Tragedy of Kurtz--An Analysis of Kurtz in Heart of Darkness." Asian Social Science 4.6 (2008). Ccsenet. Web. 19 May 2014. .

Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: Dover, 1902. Print. 19 May 2014

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