The Truth In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

In the ending of the novel, Heart of Darkness, Kurtz’s Intended and Marlow engaged in a conversation, however, both parties failed to communicate with each other. A proper communication involves an exchange of information from both speakers, and between the two, neither of them effectively communicated with each other. While the Intended makes the attempt to share her perspective of Kurtz with Marlow, her ambiguous words lack the clarity necessary to successfully communicate these thoughts with him. Marlow, too, spoke with uncertainty as he tried to obfuscate the truth. Although they were able to converse, a lack of information was exchanged due to the characters’ inability to accept the truth that Kurtz had changed dramatically and Marlow’s decision to avoid candidness and keep this devastating truth hidden.

The choice to avoid honesty was a way for Marlow to protect both himself and the Intended from the subtle horrors. Both characters viewed Kurtz as an honorable man and

It is disbelieving to hear that someone one knows best has changed into a completely new person, thus people will tend to doubt and avoid speaking of the truth. For Marlow, discovering evidence of evil in the man he admired disgusted him since he felt incapable of dealing with the subtle horrors (Conrad 108). In the final conversation between Marlow and the Intended, the Intended was uninterested in learning about Kurtz’s changed behavior. Before he left, she saw him as a talented and ambitious man. For her, the truth about Kurtz would be unbearable to hear as it demonstrates a drastic change in her relationship with him. Avoiding the truth gave the Intended a sense of assurance and relief that the Kurtz she knew died as the same, honorable man she always knew. The lack of communication between the Intended and Marlow depicts their fear of the truth, which preserved the image of the Kurtz they admired before his