Humans are naturally sinful; they turn to a sinful life when rules and guidelines are removed out of their lives. In Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, Conrad illustrates the idea of a sinful life without rules with the characters Kurtz and Marlow. The book carries a symbolic meaning into the darkest places of the human soul. The core of the book is that darkness and savagery are the true nature of our world. In the book, we can see that Kurtz was a high-minded citizen with ideals, but when he was put into a situation where there is no one watching, he turned to savagery. The fascination of the abomination is one of the major ways that we can see humans act with savagery, once they are pulled into a sinful life they cannot be pulled out. …show more content…
Kurtz represents the European colonizers and his behavior represents the drives of what he belonged to, which was just a normal and ambitious life. Kurtz wanted to lead the primitive people to the light of civilization. Instead, greed got to Kurtz, his hunger for ivory drove him to make enemies in the jungle and become savage. As Marlow says, “it had taken him, loved him, embraced him, got into his veins, consumed his flesh” (Conrad, 125). Marlow is referring to the jungle as “it”; the jungle has taken control of Kurtz. Kurtz’s desire to get more ivory caused him to become cruel and he saw his potential by using more cruelty. Figuring this out Kurtz continued to rule and dominate the natives. With the ivory, Kurtz gained wealth and fame. He got his power from the jungle and doing so led him into becoming more of a savage than he would have noticed himself becoming. This connects to the theme of the fascination of the abomination and the fight against it. Everyone has their own desires and by bringing them to the jungle, one’s desires escalate meaning they are more willing to do what they have to, to get what they want. Even having such a simple desire as attention as we can see is what Kurtz wants, caused him to become rogue and a savage, "Kurtz wanted an audience…Kurtz got the tribe to follow him…they adored him" (134-135). Kurtz craved …show more content…
He had beliefs that were normal, but the jungle caused them to become brutal and caused him to turn to an unmoral life. He believed that everything belonged to him and he would sacrifice anything to achieve his goals, even if it meant his life. Marlow narrated that Kurtz said, “’My Intended, my ivory, my station, my river, my-’ everything belonged to him” (126). Kurtz believed that everything belonged to him because he thought of himself as a god and by being a god he wanted everything. In order to get everything, he desired he was ready to give up his civilized mind to the jungle and turn himself into a savage. Furthermore, Kurtz has no desire to return to civilization because if he were to go back, he would have to lose everything he has worked for and all that he has done would have been for nothing. However, by bringing his own desires, he is allowing the jungle to take over them and take possession of his beliefs. Adding to that Marlow says “your power of devotion, not to yourself, but to an obscure, back-breaking business” (127). By connecting the two, we can see that your belief should not revolve around yourself at all because your personal motives are exactly what the jungle can and will exploit. Allowing the jungle to enter one’s life, they are allowing it to see their deepest secrets and it is exposing them. By exposing someone, the jungle escalates their desires and forces them to
... middle of paper ... ... He did not turn into an animal, who only thinks of survival, but he shared his food with the people he loved. Therefore, one can conclude that one can see the theme of inhumanity through survival.
This title was necessary to enthrall the reader's mind to think about his purpose. & nbsp; The life in Packingtown resembles the jungle life because the weak and the old are rejected, while the strong and the young are wanted for awhile, which is the main idea in Social Darwinism. " Here was Durhams's, for instance, owned by a man who was trying to make as much money out of it as he could, and did not care in the least how he did it; and ranged in ranks and grades like an army.each one driving the man next below him and trying to squeeze out of him." (63). In the jungle, it is evident that the animals care little about other species when they kill. Their main motive is to capture food.
Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness uses character development and character analysis to really tell the story of European colonization. Within Conrad's characters one can find both racist and colonialist views, and it is the opinion, and the interpretation of the reader which decides what Conrad is really trying to say in his work.
Kurtz is a power hungry man who achieved his power by getting into the ivory business and using shady techniques. He also befriended the natives in the jungle who basically become his slaves. Kurtz is so well known and put on such a pedestal, that no one would ever try to over rule him. Therefore, all of the characters “would not stir till Mr. Kurtz gave the word” (Conrad 52) for fear of becoming one of Kurtz’s hut decorations. But the main reason Kurtz affects the actio...
This shows his savagery when he lets hunting and killing animals get to him enough to the point where he creates his own tribe that is all about hunting.
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.
He talks about purpose, and how tragedy effects the audience. In the book, Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad writes about a character, Marlow, who is on a journey through Africa to find a man named Kurtz. Kurtz is a man who not many people have met or seen but he is spoken very highly of. To be a tragic hero, Aristotle says that it should be clear that the person is an important character and held to a high standard but not perfect. The character must be relatable. Marlow heard things about Kurtz that made it sound like people adored him. On page thirty, "Mr. Kurtz was a 'universal genius.'" One encounter that Marlow had with a Russian trader who was close to Kurtz described Kurtz in a sense of awe. " 'We talked of everything,' he said, quite transported at the recollection. 'I forgot there was such a thing as sleep. The night did not seem to last an hour. Everything! Everything!... Of love, too.' 'Ah he talked to you of love!'" (Conrad, 54) Before meeting Kurtz, the things Marlow heard of him, made Kurtz sound like a great man. Furthermore, Aristotle says that the hero's downfall is self-inflicted. The character makes some mistake that effects them in the long run, but the consequence is sometimes far-fetched. Kurtz was obsessed with ivory which drove him to do evil things. He would even kill people to get ivory. His obsession made him insane. "You should of heard him say, 'My ivory.'
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.
that Kurtz is a very evil person, but this does not stop him from wanting
In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Kurtz and the Council demonstrates natural human needs in order to survive and achieve personal desires. His dissolution and corruption take place as he travels deep within the Congo. His behaviour that lacks moral ethics is accepted by everyone in the Congo due to the severity of the area. Kurtz’ imperialistic actions of obsession with power and wealth, and his view of colonialism lead to his ultimate dissolution. He believes that his way of darkness is good, although it is the sole reason to his corruption.
The creature’s failure to blend in with society creates hatred in the creature’s heart for his creator. The only option for the creature is to seek revenge. This shows that the creature’s determination of destroying his creator was far greater than the creatures determination to fit in.
The man we meet deep in the Congo isn't the same man. He isn't civilized or truly respectable anymore. At this point, he had gone mad. He had the heads of "rebels" (97) on posts around his house, staring at his home. "He [Kurtz] hated all this, and somehow he couldn't get away." (95) Kurtz had two opposing sensibilities. The one said that he should leave and return to civilization and his fiancée while escaping the sickness that seemed to pervade that jungle for all Europeans. The other sensibility was more basic. It was a growl for absolute power over the lives of the natives and also the material want for more ivory. He couldn't escape this hunger. Even at the end of his life when he has been carried onto the ship and is happy to leave, he tries to break away from this decision and return to the jungle.
One of the central tragedies of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is the insanity of Mr. Kurtz. How could a man who seemed so good, so stable, suddenly become so mentally lacking? Through the deterioration of Kurtz’s personality and Marlow’s response to his breakdown, Conrad explores the elements of strong versus weak characters.
The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a mysterious book where a man named Marlow is sent on a journey to someone named Kurtz. Marlow is enthusiastic about traveling so that 's how he got to this job. As soon as he got the job he is sent on a journey to work for kurtz. Kurtz is a well respected man whether it be for good as Marlow thinks or bad as others else thinks. On the journey Marlow mind starts to change as he witnesses more and more things that he is puzzled by and can 't make sense in his head. Sometimes us as human beings don 't want to accept or we are blinded by the things that happen around us.
The main character in Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, isKurtz. Kurtz no longer obeys the authority of his superiors who believe that he has become too extreme and has come to employ "unsound methods" (Coppola, 1979; Longman, 2000). Marlow is sent to retrieve Kurtz from the evil influences in the Congo, and a wild journey on a tainted river ensues. Along the way, Marlow learns about the real Kurtz and finds himself identifying with and becoming dangerously fond of the man.