Who Is Kurtz An Empty Man

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Other instances we can see that Marlowe is when Conrad tells us his opinion of Kurtz without outright saying it. The adjectives Joseph Conrad uses contradict themselves. “I saw on that ivory face the expression of somber pride, of ruthless power, of craven terror- of an intense and hopeless despair. (Conrad,217)” Through this sentence we can clearly see that the abuse of this system has made Mr. Kurtz an empty man. The ironic element of this nothingness is that being nothing still has a cause and effect. His emptiness has a direct effect on all of those who surround him. We can see this in the scene where Mr. Kurtz manipulates the Russian. Like Marlowe, the Russian is convinced of Kurtz’s greatness. It is through the Russian that Marlowe learns