How Does Kurtz Explores The Nature Of Evil

Darkness is a major theme in The Heart of Darkness. Kurtz is unaware of his own darkness which leads to his downfall. He cannot see what kind of person he has become and how the darkness of the jungle has completely taken over him. The jungle is so secluded and mysterious that it actually influences Kurtz’s bad behavior. Kurtz becomes greedy and powerful but never realizes that this behavior is bringing him down until he is on the verge of death. Kurtz last words, “The horror! The horror!”(63) show Kurtz’s realization that the darkness had consumed him. Kurtz himself is one of the biggest examples of darkness in this book.

The standard in the Victorian era was the men were far away, while the women were morally supportive, but oblivious to the reality of the man’s work, although they economically benefitted from it. This proves the way power corrupts because Kurtz abused the opportunities given after falling from the edge of moral standards, even after his Intended attempts to show him the way. In 1902, when Conrad wrote the book, it was common to base culture off of superiority, therefore it was seen that Kurtz was in the Congo for the redemption of natives. In the text, Joseph Conrad gives much respect to the native tribes, Mr. Kurtz, however, has none. “Exterminate all brutes!” (Conrad 50) he says, claiming that if he cannot change the natives, they should be thrown out. He, and many people like him, introduced new cultures to societies that did not want it. The corruption of the spirituality found in some cultures is thus caused by the hunger for power from interference from separate societies.

Heart of Darkness, a greatly revered piece of literature for its condemnation of imperialism written by Joseph Conrad, has a lot of symbolism throughout it. One of the most important symbols that is a recurring theme is the darkness and what it represents. For Kurtz, a character that gets carried away by greed, the darkness would represent all the unspoken deeds he was able to commit in the Congo without the eyes of civilization watching him.

The Europeans’ desires that grew from imperialism go against the natives and their resistance to the imperialists. Imperialism causes an increase in savagery in the Europeans by making them see natives as either profit or an obstacle, and the natives by making them resist the Europeans. Kurtz himself reaches the level of savagery when Marlow witnesses the words “Exterminate all the brutes!” on his report (Conrad 75). Kurtz practically leads the Belgian Congo, and yet he wishes to resort to inhumane methods such as genocide. Marlow remarks that Kurtz “There was nothing either above or below him, and I knew it. He had kicked himself loose of the earth” (Conrad 100). Kurtz does as he pleases, with no one above him or below him to stop him. The

This was not the case with Kurtz. Kurtz took advantage of his position, but did so at the cost of the people of the Congo. He acted in locum Diem, (in place of god) to the Africans, exploiting necessary resources at his expense. He often abused these natives not for pleasure, but for the advancement of his journey motif, much to the same degree Victor bent the rules of society to achieve a goal in Frankenstein. He did not see it as necessarily wrong, but unavoidable, that he eventually came to live by. "Each station should be like a beacon on the road towards better things, a center for trade of course but also for humanizing, improving, instructing." (Page 107) Kurtz says to the Ivory Company as means of motivation and explaining that their cause is just. This is similar to America's position on Iraq, with the difference being the realities of the actual occurrences, where America seeks to liberate Iraq; Kurtz seeks to "use" the Africans.

Heart of Darkness exposes the different levels of darkness that is within every human being that commit heinous acts of evil. Conrad exposed himself to the brutality of attitudes in the Congo when he worked as a captain on the Congo River. In every society there are people who want to get rid of all bad attitudes and elements. The character of Kurtz represents one kind of personality. One that is intelligent, ambitious and also capable of just about anything. As soon as money is involved, he turns into a money hungry evil go getter. Most humans have the quality of empathy towards other human beings and living things. After awhile this starts to drive Kurtz crazy. You see different

He mentioned his ’thin arm’,  and how he could see ’the cage of his ribs all astir’, giving the sickly impression of him being frail and malnourished. He continues to explain how his eyes shone ’darkly far in its bony head that nodded with grotesque jerks.’ This is an extremely effective description as eyes are usually associated with shining bright, however, Marlow makes it clear that his were the opposite, which illuminates how Kurtz got so consumed in the darkness of the Congo, or as Marlow previously says, how ’many powers of darkness have claimed him for their own’. The verb ’jerks’ suggests that Kurtz was so weak and fragile that he was unable to prop his own head up. He was also described as an image of death ’carved out of old ivory’, emphasising how Kurtz had also turned into his own obsession. Kurtz’s bodily sickness and decay may be seen as a metaphor for his diseased mind and corruption as he slowly deteriorates. This description Marlow gives of Kurtz being so fragile and weak shows the disparity compared to before we met him. Others claimed him to be so omnipotent, intimidating and powerful, however, once we meet him ,he cannot fend for himself and is left to rely on the Africans to do as he says. In addition to this, Marlow describes Kurtz using the pronouns ’that’ and ’it’ often in this passage, almost dehumanising him. This implies that he no longer viewed Kurtz

The nightmare of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is found in its stark portrayal of madness under the influence of an environment filled with desolation. Its protagonist, Mr. Kurtz, was raised amongst civilized people, adapted virtues that were regarded proper in society during the Victorian era, yet when he travels into the Congo, where these qualities are of no consequence, he abandons them to become wild. To understand how Kurtz fell to this emotional corruptness, a reader must be aware of three main elements that caused his disillusionment: power, greed, and isolation.

Upon reading “Heart of Darkness”, I kept perceiving the theme of darkness echoing the title of the novella. The theme of darkness is omnipresent along this short novel from its title until the very end. The most obvious aspects related to darkness are the natives’ skin color in Congo and the symbol of darkness relative to the evils of the European colonialism. From another point of view, I also thought that the darkness of the unexplored Congo could refer to the mystery of the unknown, and from a natural point of view, it gets increasingly darker as Marlow narrates his journey up the Congo River. In fact, I could see a clear polysemy in the use of darkness in every moment or element in the novel, including the characters themselves; the most intriguing among these characters—the main character?—being Kurtz. After reading “Heart of Darkness”, I could not but give a special interest to the very mysterious M. Kurtz and view his character as an allegory of darkness –as in evil—leading to Kurtz’s metamorphosis to the insane man he became.

Everyone who knew Kurtz, even his fiancee that didn’t even know him at all, knew him as a man who was bound for success. He had the ambition, charisma, courage, and eloquence to claim anything in this world as his. Kurtz went to Africa to spread European culture and civilization and had the intentions to bring proverbial light to the dark savage new world. Kurtz realized that to do this he had to be the one that should act as their god and bring them the enlightenment that he thought they needed. This really

Kurtz is one of the many men sent to the jungle to collect ivory and strip the land of its natural resources. He became known as powerful for his knowledge and large collection of ivory. His power gives him the ability to achieve popularity from those back in Europe and the natives that live in the Congo. However, the power in Kurtz demonstrates his ignorance as he feels he must save the natives from themselves, leading him to dehumanize them. While in the jungle, Kurtz is in the true heart of darkness which is the farthest station in the jungle. Kurtz keeps being fed this illusion of power because he has been stuck in the darkness of the jungle for so long

In the novella Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, several key themes are represented through the geography and the relationship it has with the behavior of the characters. Joseph Conrad conveys that savagery is in every man and when exposed to an uncivilized environment, it can bring out that madness from within through the character of Kurtz,who is widely admired in the beginning of the story, but then it is revealed that he becomes mad because of his prolonged time in the uncivilized surroundings of Africa.

These binary oppositions are clearly reflected throughout Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. This novel reflects the Joseph own ideas and experiences which he felt during his journey and he showed through Marlow who is omost important character in the novel. He would like to hide immoral activities of the Kurtz and i n the character of Kurtz the whole Europe ,that how they corrupted and treated badly with natives.

He witnesses the heart of darkness. The absolutely corrupted evil mind by greed and thirst for power. Kurtz has become an insane godlike slaver and leader in a native African tribe. He developed extremely high level of self importance and as the result he disconnected with the world and reality. Although, Kurtz started out like Marlow, as noble conqueror. However, there was nobody to check on him, he had no supervisor and as Marlow often said - Kurtz could not restrain himself from the temptation. He entered a state of mind where had no borders anymore, slaying down other tribes and killing for wealth without showing any kind of remorse. For him it became normal or even natural. Kurtz's godlike side also prevails where he claims around him

Characters can hold great significance in novels, even though they make a short appearance or none at all. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Kurtz is one of those characters; he influences the plot and the other characters’ thoughts, actions, and emotions. The idea of Kurtz and what he represents is far greater than the man himself.