The Role Of Kurtz In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

Kurtz was called back to his Inner Station by the “many powers of darkness [that] claimed him” which was not only his greed and thirst for power but also the darkness within humanity. Kurtz originally traveled to the Congo in hopes to enlighten and humanize the native African. However, once he was able to relish the power that belonged to him in the jungle, Kurtz could not resist the call of his own primitive greed. Within the jungles of the Congo, Kurtz experienced a power over the African men that he cannot receive in the civilized nature of Europe. The native offered “unspeakable rites” and sacrifices for Kurtz and worshipped him. Although Kurtz would have received much congratulations on his collection of ivory, he would not obtain the

It allows Marlow to get enough information to make a decision, but he is unable to find out if his information is accurate. This is true for Marlow’s situations throughout the novella. Marlow enters the Company without any background knowledge on who they were and what they were doing in Africa. He also develops an idea of Krutz based on the information he has received from others instead of himself. Despite not knowing all the facts, Marlow is continues to create assumptions in place of reality. Krutz is seen as a “shade” because, although Marlow only has second hand encounters with Krutz, Krutz is the embodiment of Marlow’s enlightenment. Marlow follows Kurtz 's shadow until the fog is lifted and Marlow is able to see the true darkness within man that the Company has been attempting to hide from the view of others. In a broad sense, the darkness within humans is not openly seen as people live in a civilized society, but when the rules of society is released, the internal darkness inside men can finally be seen which is a central message of the Heart of Darkness. The inability to create complete facts about the mystery surrounding the Congo, create the sense of the discovery of the central message, the darkness within man. Without the reference to blindness and sight, the story would lose its sense of a narrative of discovery. Furthermore, it reveals the idea that the story is written in a form of a narrative and contain the assumptions and biases of Marlow and Kurtz as they tell their