Soon after the last pages are turned and the small novel, The Heart of Darkness, comes to an end, the reader is left with a profound opinion and judgement of one of Joseph Conrad’s most famous and most analyzed pieces of literature along with an an assumption of Conrad’s own life and personality. The unforgettable tale of The Heart of Darkness has impacted its audiences for years. With that in mind, Joseph Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness undoubtedly merits a thorough evaluation on many key features from an investigation on Conrad’s life and how if affected the story to the author’s use of abundant characterization and themes. As the first topic of discussion, according to a biography source on Joseph Conrad, “[He] was born Józef Teodor Konrad …show more content…
The way he strategically created each fictional character is absolutely impressive. For instance, the main character and protagonist, Marlow, is a seaman who has traveled the world with open eyes and a hopeful heart. Marlow is dynamic due to the changes in his view of life.As a child he dreamed of exploring the places on the map that no one had ever stepped foot on. He was honest and optimistic; although, instead of his adventures proving the uplifting qualities of exploring, he learned of the evil darkness in every man’s heart. This new discovery changed his perspective entirely, he even left his honesty behind when he lied to Marlow’s fiancee about his last words. However, Kurtz was more of a round character compared to Marlow’s evolving nature. Kurtz is quite possibly the most interesting character in The Heart of Darkness. Somewhere along the way of his travels to Africa he stopped fighting for the goo and let the bad consume his thoughts and actions. He left civilization and took control of the natives, treating them like slaves. Up into his last words, he admitted the monster that he was. These characters affected the lives of those around them more than they realized and truly completed this story with