Again, when he meets Kurtz in Congo, he shows curiosity about the activities of Kurtz there. Despite the fact, “[a]ll Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz” (Conrad 83) Marlow gets to know that Kurtz is nothing short of a demon in his attitude towards the black natives. He holds him in contempt, though he doesn't become vocal. Besides, when he gets to the English woman betrothed to Kurtz, and hands over Kurtz's papers to her, he tells a lie, saying that Kurtz uttered her name when he was about
One of the main Congolese that rejects Nathan’s search for justice is the chief of the village, Tata Ndu. "Tata Ndu feels that bringing the Christian word to these people is leading them to corrupt ways." (Kingsolver 129) This shows that not everybody believes that Christianity is so great. In Nathan’s head Christianity brings justice to the Congo but to the Congolese, Christianity only brings more injustice to them. Nevertheless Nathan’s ignores their thoughts and beliefs and continues to try to force Christianity on
This greed grew strong and grew into the establishment of imperialism through the use of slavery. While the greed is still growing the English have know lost all of their moral value and have cast aside the meaning of life for the Natives of the Congo. This hunger of greed allowed the civilized to become the uncivilized “savages” they paint the Natives to be. Mr. Kurtz is the man that the english view as the idol in a way but dies seeing “The Horror”(154) of all the darkness the “light”(68) has made. Works Cited Qu, Caie.
The International Congo Society, also known as the International Association of the Congo, was a front organization created by Leopold to conceal his involvement in trade and gain publicity by partnering with well-known philanthropists and scientists to show his false intentions. (Hochschild 46) Because of this deceptive appearance, the area that soon became known as the Congo Free State attracted the attention of missionaries and lawyers looking for work. These people would then see the horrors of the Congo Free State with their own eyes, but would be extremely reluctant to stand up for the natives, the reason being was that they did not want to step out of line and cause a situation that wouldn’t benefit themselves. Additionally, the soldiers and officials there came upon the belief that the atrocities were ordinary. “Then, of course, the terror in the Congo was sanctioned by the authorities.
Heart of Darkness portrays the fearsome and psychologically sophisticated story of the struggle between civilization and the wild untamed nature. The captain of the vessel is named Charlie Marlow, initially his aim is to take ivory out of Africa and with it an ill agent named Mr. Kurtz because of who Marlow’s reality starts to change. Kurtz is one of the key character in the novel. He was called the “universal genius”, who is extremely intelligent but unfortunately falls under the influence of human instincts like greed. Nobody from the people who surround him can help him, in fact the opposite, he is considered to be godlike, for instance, because of his origin: “On my asking who Mr. Kurtz was, he said he was a first-class agent;
Although he failed to bring the religion to Congo, he became a popular in Congo and the old world. Unfortunately, since rubber has been a ubiquitously used material, King Leopold II would like to gain an immense profit from mass production of rubber in Congo at all absurd lengths after it became a Belgian realm (Hochschild, 1998). For the sake of boosting the production, the Belgian colonial government exploits the indigenous by oblige them to work under inhumane working conditions (Hochschild, 1998). If the native refused or failed to meet the production target, they would suffer from various means of mental and physical abuse, such as having skeletons
Even though he sees all the injustices that the Africans are living, he doesn’t make any effort in stopping them. Although he doesn’t see them as a threat and feels a little bit of compassion for them, he considers himself to be superior to them ‘They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now—nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom’ (Heart of Darkness, p 26). On the other hand, Kurtz had no feeling for those people. He was interested only in ivory and he considers ivory more important then everything else, as he threatens a man’s life so that he would give him the ivory that he collected for himself. Marlow sow heads of the black people on sticks.
In Heart of Darkness, Kurtz gains money and status through his immense ivory imports, thus ensuring he remains a dominant figure in Congo. As Marlow describes his journey, he frequently cites Kurtz as having “no restraint,” detailing Kurtz’s collection of heads on sticks surrounding his living quarters. The repetition of this phrase exhibits that Kurtz is revered and feared among Marlow’s fellow explorers, thus held on a pedestal due to his existing wealth. This fascination with Kurtz inhibits Marlow’s journey for self-discover throughout the Congo as he spends much of the novel searching for Kurtz in pursuit of his own self-actualization, thus avoids true internal
A tragic hero is a term that describes a character who displays certain characteristics which affect their future significantly. In Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo’s fate as a tragic hero to an extent is greatly true as he portrays hamartia, a fatal flaw, and hubris, excessive pride. Even though the author describes Okonkwo as a hardworking, African farmer, it contradicts his rash decisions following numerous events. Therefore, Okonkwo’s tragedy is true as his fear of weakness and excessive pride lead him to his downfall. Even though Achebe sets Okonkwo to his downfall, it is evident that Okonkwo is a great hero despite his rash behavior and temper.
The ideology of imperialism revolves around the need for economic gain through any means necessary. However, Conrad tries to show that the very ideology itself is detrimental to a person’s mental health throughout the first chapter of Heart of Darkness. A key example of this is the scene with the doctor at the beginning of the chapter, the doctor who is examining Marlow states that “changes take place inside” people that go to places like Africa. The doctor could be implying that individual change when they go places like Africa because of the influence of imperialism. In places like Africa an individual must adapt to the imperialistic ideology, which revolves primarily around the gain of profit.