Heart of Darkness

...

many times that Kurtz was quite ill, seeing it in person still came as a shock. Throughout his whole journey he was told of how strong, powerful, successful and influential Kurtz was, that to see him lying in a stretcher surrounded by natives gave Marlow almost a feeling of intimacy and importance. Marlow described Kurtz as “an animated image of death” but was not turned off by this, rather was more abhorred after meeting Kurtz’s native mistress. Perhaps this is to be expected because of how much Marlow values honesty versus how much he was alike Kurtz. Before Kurtz died, Marlow was able to share an intimate moment with him while he was attempting an escape. Marlow sees that Kurtz was anything but a lunatic in this time of complete desperation that would have looked completely bizarre to anyone else. Kurtz was an intelligent and concentrated man with a mad soul (83). “He struggled with himself too. I saw it- I heard it. I saw the inconceivable mystery of a soul that knew no restraint, no faith, and no fear” (83) and conceivably this was all Marlow needed to see before he understood his curious obsession with Kurtz.

By the time of Kurtz’s death, Marlow was aware of the similarities they shared. From day one Marlow was attracted to the blank spaces; the unexplored territory. It’s what drove him to explore the Congo and what prompted his curiosity towards Kurtz. Upon first entering the mouth of the Congo river, Marlow states his view on lying and those who lie. He vows to never tell a lie in his life, but because of the way the story is told we find out that this is not a promise he keeps. “You know, I hate, detest, and can’t bear a lie”, “but I went for him near enough to lie.” (32). There was a time where Kurtz lied in writing his progress reports and because of this Marlow lost his respect for Kurtz, but doesn’t stop on his journey. Honesty was everything to Marlow but the impact the Congo had on him evidently changed that. Kurtz lying was something Marlow could quickly get over. The Congo was changing Marlow in the same way it changed Kurtz, but Marlow escaped before it took his soul. “Kurtz has made that last stride, he had stepped over the edge, while I had been permitted to draw back my hesitating foot.” Kurtz entered the Congo with the same sanity that Marlow did. They both had lives outside the Congo, talents, and people who cared about them. Marlow saw how alike they were and was remarked by Kurtz for having the ability to give into the darkness that Marlow resisted. Kurtz explored the deepest and darkest side of himself, a blank space of unexplored territory. Both characters shared in this passion of being where nobody else has been before. Although Marlow valued honesty, it’s shown that he valued exploration more. He lied for Kurtz because of how much Marlow admired his ability to explore the dark.

Marlow displayed a certain loyalty towards Kurtz and this lead him to follow closely in Kurtz footsteps deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness. The key idea is that although Marlow followed Kurtz closely, he didn’t follow right behind him. If he had, Marlow would be just as insane as Kurtz. Marlow left enough room to be able to see what Kurtz was doing and admire him for it but not do things the same way. The Congo has this way of bringing out the darkness inside of everyone, but perhaps it brought out some good in Marlow. Before journeying the heart of darkness it’s safe to say that Marlow would not have lied if his life depended on it. But by the end of his trip he realized that some lies are justifiable, it all depends on which values you hold closest to your heart. What made Marlow’s story a tragedy was not that he was a victim of the Congo, it was his curiosity towards it. As Joseph Conrad said, “To be part of the animal kingdom under the condition of this earth is very well- but as soon as you know of your slavery, the pain, the anger, the strife- the tragedy begins.”

Works Cited

Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Penguin: London, 2007.