Heart Of Darkness Character Analysis - 977 Words

The novelist Laurence Sterne once wrote, â€Å"No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.† In the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad there are two characters whose minds are being torn in two. One of these characters is the mysterious Kurtz. Kurtz is the commander of a trading post for a corrupt company who trades ivory. While he works for corrupt company and does disgusting things, he also has a set of morals. Throughout the novel Kurtz shows the struggle between wanting and gaining personal wealth and being a decent human being. Throughout the journey, Marlow continues to†¦show more content†¦Not only does the company treat the Africans badly, they do not even see them as human. The company in England, as well as the much of Europe, has the idea that because the Africans are â€Å"less advanced†, they are not civilized. Thinking this allows for the mistreatment of the Africans. When Kurtz first arrived in Africa, he presumably thought the same as the other Englishmen. As Kurtz spends more time with the Africans, he begins to change his mindset about the African’s lifestyle and begins to accept it. Over time, Kurtz comes to the realization that the Africans are truly humans and are civilized in their own way. Kurtz knows that the Africans are cannibals and that they act in ways that seem inhumane to Europeans, but he comes to the same realization that Marlow later does. Marlow learns that it is restraint that makes a person civil when he thinks, â€Å"why in the name of all gnawing devils of hunger they didnt go for us - they were thirty to five - and have a good tuck-in for once, amazes me now when I think of it(400). Kurtz recognizes what makes people civil. It is not the clothes they wear or the customs they have, it is whether they can control themselves and have restraint when dealing with others. This influences Kurtz’ outlook on civilization and the Africans. Once Kurtz recognized the Africans as humans and acknowledged their lifestyle as civilized, he began toShow MoreRelatedCharacter Analysis Of Heart Of Darkness1799 Words   |  8 PagesIntroduction Joseph Conrad’s 20th century novella, Heart of Darkness, explicates the disparity between the intrinsic nature of humans and the superficiality that one exudes to masquerade the primordial nature innate to all persons. Charlie Marlow’s expedition through the Congo River cultivates an opportunity for self-discovery as he realizes that the human spirit is capable of atrocities that one could not fathom; moreover, his empirical observations of European violence in Africa impels him to renounceRead MoreCharacter Analysis Of Heart Of Darkness1983 Words   |  8 PagesJoseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness, examines the mysterious Kurtz, and his struggling journey in which his psyche tries to maintain its state after transferring into a different and more mysterious environment. This change to the jungle from Europe altered the limits of his mind, causing his old European identity to be mutated. 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Conrad wrote his novella during British colonization, focusingRead More Comparing Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness Essay1489 Words   |  6 PagesComparing Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness   Ã‚   In the opening scenes of the documentary film Hearts of Darkness-A Filmmakers Apocalypse, Eleanor Coppola describes her husband Franciss film, Apocalypse Now, as being loosely based on Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness. Indeed, loosely is the word; the period, setting, and circumstances of the film are totally different from those of the novella. Yet, a close analysis of character, plot, and theme in each respective work reveals thatRead MoreThe Journey In â€Å"Heart Of Darkness† Spans Not Only The Capricious1222 Words   |  5 PagesThe journey in â€Å"Heart of Darkness† spans not only the capricious waters extending our physical world, but also the perplexing ocean which exists in the heart of man. Through Marlow s somewhat overenthusiastic eyes, we perceive the mystery that is humanity, and the blurred line between darkness and light. It is an expedition into the deepest crevices of the human heart and mind bringing on an awareness, and finally descending into the abyss of hell abiding in each of us. Conrad’s use of wordplayRead MoreIn Search of the Unknown: Apocalypse Now1584 Words   |  6 PagesIn Search of the Unknown Apocalypse Now is a film based on the story Heart of Darkness, written by Joseph Conrad. By analyzing the book, the readers do not just understand the theme and plot of the story, but also makes readers look back in the 19th century Colonialism and see how the world worked under Imperialism. 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