Why do the officers consider Kurtz unsound?
The officers consider Kurtz and his methods unsound because his reality no longer lines
up with theirs. When Kurtz entered the military, and as he was rising in the ranks, his reality was
especially conducive to that employed by the military, and therefore he was quickly accepted.
Kurtz eventually began to lose grasp of the reality that the military supported, and drifted from it.
This is evidenced by his decision to join the Green Berets, in which he would have low likelihood
of increasing in rank. This began to alienate Kurtz from his superiors, and eventually, after
taking action of his own accord in Vietnam, they realized his reality contradicted theirs. In an
effort to protect
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In order to prevent its spread to the western world,
the US attempted to stop it were it had already taken root, and prevent it from spreading further.
They chose to do so through war and therefore violence. This war was one over ideals rather
than resources. The battle was one between democracy and communism, not between two
nations. The involved nations were simply representatives for their respective systems.
European imperialism on the other hand was for the increase in pride for the involved nations.
The fight was for control over territory and resources, rather than simple ideals. The fight for
ideals was simply a byproduct of this intrusion, transforming the savages was not a goal. The
opposite is true for Vietnam. The US entered with the intention of altering ideals, and capturing
territory and resources was a side effect. A major point to consider is who decides for which side
a country will fight. A soldier who may support communism, but happens to live in America, is
drowned out by the voices of those in power. Those few make the decisions of the mores and
the general reality of the people. The soldier then must fight a war based on ideals, for an ideal
he does not believe in.
Why does Willard say he would never want another mission after the one involving Kurtz?
Willard says he never wants another mission
1. How did the Seven Year’s War change the balance of power among the nations of Europe? Who gained and who lost in the war? The Seven Years' War was a worldwide military clash in the vicinity of 1756 and 1763, including the majority of the colossal forces of the time and influencing Europe, North America, Central America, the West African drift, India, and the Philippines.
In the first parts of the book most of the characters Marlow meets tell him all good things about Kurtz. When Marlow inquires about who Kurtz is he is told by the chief account of the company that Kurtz is, "a first class agent...he is a very remarkable person." (p. 33). Another person tells Marlow that Kurtz
and thus pave the way for the modern national state that would emerge after the
Although Kurtz was alone, that loneliness helped him in the end. Through isolation, Kurtz was able to see who he really was. The main place where Kurtz finds himself is on his deathbed. Marlow says, ‘"But the wilderness had found him out early, and had taken on him a terrible vengeance for the fantastic invasion. I think it had whispered to him things about himself which he did not know, things of which he had no conception till he took counsel with this great solitude-and the whisper had proved irresistibly fascinating’"(Conrad 57). Marlow is saying that since Kurtz has been in the wilderness,
In September 1945 Ho Chin Minh declared his country independence (Vietnam).Ho determination to make his country free brought him to the realization that, in other to achieve that, the Vietnamese would have to fight another war against the French colonialist. After several years of fighting the French were won out and sued for peace with the Vietnamese with a suitably ceremony on October 9 1945.This brought the intervention of the American, who wanted Vietnamese to be permanently divided which was temporally divided at the time (pp 150-151). As the Americans campaigned against communism, it has being portrayed to many that it is the right of the Americans to intervene in Vietnamese as world power. But the decision made by Johnson’s presidency was bias. The increase of American military troops in south Vietnam provoked and intensified the response from the north which eventually broke out to a war were so many lives were lost. The war ended with a great
From his first mention in the novel--“[Mr. Kurtz] is a very remarkable person”--it is made clear to readers that Kurtz is no ordinary member of the Company. Before narrator Marlow actually encounters this man, he is described as “exceptional”, “of the greatest importance to the Company”, and a “universal genius”. Readers learn that Kurtz came to Africa “equipped with moral ideas” and has brought in an unprecedented amount of ivory, which is the primary goal of the Company. Overall, Kurtz is a prodigy, expected to move up the Company hierarchy quickly, and becomes a sort of obsession for Marlow. Despite this, higher-ups in the Company seem to fear, and
were fighting was not for money, property or power. It was a war to set other men
Ho was determined to achieve independence for the region. The French wanted to regain power and took badly to Ho's proclaiming the former Indochina as 'The Democratic Republic of Vietnam' in September, as the British had persuaded the allies to return power to the French in October (Palmer, 1984). At this time bi-polarity was not yet fully entrenched and Ho appealed to the U.S. in his September speech to the masses, drawing on The American Declaration of Independence (ibid.). America influenced the celebrations and professed its friendship to the new state.
Kurtz’s lack of restraint and hunger for ivory consumes not only his soul but drains all of his physical existence. Upon seeing him, Marlow states, “I could see the cage of his ribs all astir, the bones of his arm waving (126)”. Conrad focuses on the physical features of Kurtz to display the madness that has consumed him. However, though Kurtz’s body is deteriorating, Kurtz’s mind continues to thrive. Conrad shows this in Marlow’s shock of witnessing a flame of passion that remains in Kurtz’s eyes as he converses without signs of exhaustion (126). Conrad continues to describe Kurtz as a shadow composed of tranquility and satisfaction. Conrad’s incorporation of this detail signifies the evil and greed that consumes Kurtz and is reflected through his physique. However, the power of Kurtz’s presence is personified through the action of his words. As the strength in his voice captures Marlow’s attention, it merely reflects his influence upon his followers. The power reflected through his voice displayed his confidence as well as his position as a leader for the natives. Hi demeanor displays an air of arrogance that makes others feel less equal to him. Those who follow him fear him, but also continue to respect him.
The problem with this was the wars only lasted so long. This meant that endless line of income stopped at the end of the war. The obvious solution in their eyes was a war that would never end. This would prove to be a difficult feat to achieve.
He puts such confidence in the three Weird Sisters that he can’t even see that their evilness is leading him down the wrong path. His appointment to Thane of Cawdor makes him believe that he is better than anyone else, even Duncan. Why should he be more qualified for the position of king that any one of Duncan’s other trusted comrades? The truth is that he isn’t; He only believes himself to be. This superiority complex cannot be illustrated better than through Kurtz. Not only does he believe himself to be higher than God, he actually thinks of himself as a god. The way the natives worship him and how the "chiefs . . . would crawl" (Conrad, 133) to him are examples of the way he tricked the ignorant natives into thinking of him as a god. They carried him around on a stretcher and just adored him even though he forced them to get ivory and punished them harshly. Because of his powerful position and because he truly believed that he was in many ways better than everyone else, Kurtz was able to convince everyone he came in contact with of this theory of his god-like stature. Both men thought of themselves as superior because of the titles and duties earned from their evil and cheated ambition.
At the end of his journey he realized the reason that everyone who went on this expedition was trying to make their fortune and that is how Kurtz eventually died. His “appetite for more ivory had got the better” of him. No matter what the cost to himself and the people around him, he was going to be the best and get the most money. His selfishness eventually caused his death when the manager downstream would not send food because he hoarded all of the ivory all to himself. Marlow knew that Kurtz was very serious about his job when he saw “heads on the stakes” in front of his house. Which could have been a warning to other people who try to come get his ivory. But the interesting part was most of the heads are faced toward his house. Kurtz wanted attention and loved to have power. These heads could be there to adore him just like the natives when he was with them. Kurtz search for power and wealth left in its wake death and destruction, showing that humanities quest for wealth leads to destruction.
Kurtz is a power hungry man who achieved his power by getting into the ivory business and using shady techniques. He also
With a station allowed to become bare of goods and stores, Kurtz is forced to decide either to seek relief from the Company Station or else abandon his outpost and his work. He does neither. Kurtz 's tragic mistake occurs when he decides instead to turn his back on the headquarters, on relief, on thoughts of home and to return to his empty station. The turning point in Kurtz 's career, in his plans, in his life and sanity, is arrived at the moment he decides to abandon his trade relationship with the natives and continue acquiring ivory from them by raiding the country.
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.