The Heart Of Darkness :: Essays Papers

The subject matter Of Darkness The novel, Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, is literally about Marlows journey into the Belgian Congo, b atomic number 18ly symbolically about the discovery of his heart and soul during his journey, only to figure that it is consumed by darkness. He realizes that the man he admired and respected near, is in truth demonic and that he may be just like him. He is able to come to this realization however, before it takes the best of him. The main theatrical role of the story, Marlow, is a thirty-two year old English seaman who has been travelling all his life. All he really wants is to find some rag of goodness in the European domination of Africa. He finds his thoughts completely consumed by one man named Kurtz. Kurtz is a man in charge of the most successful pearl business in the Congo. He is the focus in the novel, in that he is the one whom the other characters react to. Marlows thoughts are so consumed by Kurtz, that he is built up to be frequently more of a man than he truly is. In turn, Marlow is position himself up for a let down. He says at one point, I seemed to see Kurtz for the first time...the lone white man turning his support suddenly on the headquarters, on relief, on thoughts of home...towards his empty and desolate identify(P.32). When Marlow reaches Kurtzs station, he begins to become disillusioned. He begins to hear about, and even see, the acts that Kurtz is committing, and becomes scared of him. He sees in Kurtz, what he could become, and wants nothing to do with it. He does not want people to know he has any type of kindred with him, and says in response to the Russian, I suppose that it had not occurred to him that Mr. Kurtz was no perfection of mine. (P.59). It is at this point that he begins to discover the darkness in his heart.Towards the fetch up of the story, right before Kurtz dies, Marlow looks at Kurtz, and says I saw on that ivory face the expression of somber pride, of ruthless p ower, of craven terror-of an intense and bleak despair. (P.118), and then Kurtz screams, The horror, the horror. (P.118) and he dies. He is referring to what he sees inside himself. This is just what Marlow was claustrophobic he was becoming, he looked deep inside himself, and saw Kurtz.