He has become the victim and executioner of his actions. Kurtz comes to Africa with a moral ambition. However, he surrenders to the primitive darkness, becoming the slave of his greed.
He lacks restraint in the gratification of his lust. In the end, he realizes that he has built his life in the wrong way. What the white people do in Congo is horrible. Their behavior becomes worse than the cannibalism of Blackman. They become hollow men, empty of humanity and unnaturally savage. What is Kurtz doing in the Congo? Why does Kurtz go crazy? What does Kurtz talk to Marlow about on the boat? Important Quotes Explained.
I think the knowledge came to him at last—only at the very last" 3. So why do people still look up to Kurtz? We think they see in him the potential for greatness, along with charisma and ambition. And those qualities end up being Kurtz's legacy—not his madness and brutality. Is this Conrad's own condemnation of mankind's blindness? Buckle up, set the airbags, and put on your oxygen masks : we have one more big idea about Kurtz: He's the result of progress.
Think about it. Instead, he's suggesting that progress—moving into Africa, spreading Western culture—inevitably means taking part of the dark inside you.
Want a fancy word for this? We call it dialectics. What Kurtz shows us is that progress isn't good. In fact, it's horrific. In the nineteenth century, there was a general idea in Europe that history and cultures were evolving toward a better future. Western civilization was the pinnacle of human evolution, and eventually it was going to crowd out the darkness in other parts of the world.
Conrad didn't think so, but his objection wasn't the cultural relativism that makes us roll our eyes at that idea today. Today, we tend to see all cultures as valuable—different, sure, but equally worthwhile in their own way. Saying that Western culture is the pinnacle of human evolution and that we have a duty to educate people all over the world strikes many people as a little presumptuous and even silly.
It didn't strike Conrad as silly. It struck him as terrifying. Bibliography 1. Sign in to write a comment. Read the ebook. Colonial Perspectives in Joseph Conra Imperialism in Joseph Conrad's He Civilization and Barbarism in Joseph Metaphysical dimension in Joseph Conr Interaction as a problem and a promis Representation in Joseph Conrad's Conrad and Coppola and the Heart of D Female Voicelessness in Conrad and We Family Sec Monsters, Darkness, Imagination.
Joseph Conrads "Heart of Darknes Analyse des Textes "Heart of Dar Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad.
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