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nvzmun 's review for:
Heart of Darkness
by Joseph Conrad
It is in the nature of a human being to sacrifice something for the greater good; however, this was not the case for Kurtz. (semi spoilers ig)
In Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Kurtz is portrayed as the embodiment of evil as he practices horrific acts towards the natives to gain Ivory. When Kurtz surrenders his life as an explorer to become a native god, Conrad shows the readers how Kurtz’s temptation and hunger for power led to his annihilation.
Through Marlow, we learn that Kurtz was on an expedition to Congo to find ivory and "civilize" the natives as many Europeans at that time wanted to do. However, when Kurtz had nothing to trade with them, he rallied up tribes and raided villages for ivory. As stated on page 133, “But the wilderness had found him out early, and had taken him on a terrible vengeance for the fantastic invasion".
Heart of Darkness illustrates Kurtz as an enigmatic character as he is pursued by the protagonist Marlow and many other characters in the novel. Through his horrifying actions towards the natives of Congo, Conrad highlights the evil characteristics of Kurtz and also the European ideals of imperialism and mercantilism. His yearning for ivory leads him to surrender himself to the wilderness and become the God for the natives and have them bring all their ivory to him. We suspect Marlow to form hatred against the company and Kurtz. However, as the story develops, Marlow's fascination with Kurtz grows and he becomes the keeper of Kurtz's memories. This goes on to further display how Kurtz's charismatic characteristics impacted Marlow and the other characters to have a certain fondness and respect for him.
This book was extremely disturbing but I found it quite intriguing to explain the darkness of human nature. I am not exactly sure if I hate or like this book so I'll keep it at a 3 for now.
In Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Kurtz is portrayed as the embodiment of evil as he practices horrific acts towards the natives to gain Ivory. When Kurtz surrenders his life as an explorer to become a native god, Conrad shows the readers how Kurtz’s temptation and hunger for power led to his annihilation.
Through Marlow, we learn that Kurtz was on an expedition to Congo to find ivory and "civilize" the natives as many Europeans at that time wanted to do. However, when Kurtz had nothing to trade with them, he rallied up tribes and raided villages for ivory. As stated on page 133, “But the wilderness had found him out early, and had taken him on a terrible vengeance for the fantastic invasion".
Heart of Darkness illustrates Kurtz as an enigmatic character as he is pursued by the protagonist Marlow and many other characters in the novel. Through his horrifying actions towards the natives of Congo, Conrad highlights the evil characteristics of Kurtz and also the European ideals of imperialism and mercantilism. His yearning for ivory leads him to surrender himself to the wilderness and become the God for the natives and have them bring all their ivory to him. We suspect Marlow to form hatred against the company and Kurtz. However, as the story develops, Marlow's fascination with Kurtz grows and he becomes the keeper of Kurtz's memories. This goes on to further display how Kurtz's charismatic characteristics impacted Marlow and the other characters to have a certain fondness and respect for him.
This book was extremely disturbing but I found it quite intriguing to explain the darkness of human nature. I am not exactly sure if I hate or like this book so I'll keep it at a 3 for now.