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Essay / Character Analysis of Heart of Darkness
Table of ContentsIntroductionBodyMr. KurtzThe Brick MakerThe FinanceConclusionIntroductionThis novel is based on Conrad's experiences as captain of a Belgian steamship, he is one of the most important writers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Conrad was Polish and he learned to speak English until he was 20, just after learning French. Heart of Darkness takes place in the period following the African Scramble in the late 19th century, in which various European powers divided and possessed Africa like it was a piece of cake. birthday. Belgium was looking for the precious ivory hidden in the heart of Africa, they did not care to torture and oppress the natives to obtain it. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayBodyThe Heart of Darkness chronicles the journey of an ivory trafficker called Marlow, who, under orders from the Belgian Company, enters the jungles of Africa in search of a man called Kurtz, who also seems to be considered a god and who has lost his mind. Heart of Darkness follows the nightmarish journey to the center of Africa. In a British ship called the "NELLIE" in which three different men listen to Marlow's stories as an agent of the Company, an ivory business. In the journey, he presents the brutality, the hatred between the colonizers and the African aborigines. The relationship between Kurtz and Marlow changes over the course of the novel, at first glance it is just a name for Marlow as can be seen on page 42, line 3 where Marlow asks "please tell me who is this Mr. Kurtz? and as the story continues, he begins to revere Mr. Kurtz as can be seen in line 1 of page 46 (a few pages later in the novel) "Mr. Kurtz was a universal genius, but even a genius would find it easier to work with intelligent men and suitable instruments.” As we can see moments later, he started confessing how excited he was to meet Mr. Kurtz, completely different from indifference. he talks about himself a few pages before. His fanaticism towards him even leads him to say that he came all the way just to talk to Kurtz. Throughout the book, Marlow seems like a good guy, but not a particularly ethical one. He's not a saint, because he doesn't do anything about the horrible slavery scenarios he finds himself involved in, I understand that this was also part of the times he lived in, it wasn't like he was going to start a black civil rights movement in the 19th century, but he does some small actions that show his compassion, for example: he tried to give bread to a slave who was dying of starvation, he treated cannibals in a manner decent, and when the helmsman died he assured that the natives had not eaten his body. KurtzAnother main character (that caught my attention) is Mr. Kurtz, he is a very good agent of the Company. Everyone who knows Kurtz knows that he is a very ambitious, charismatic and eloquent person, some adjectives he uses to gain advantages over others. He gave in to the relentless, hostage-taking African savagery that cost him his sanity. A very important fact about him is that most of the information we get from him is rumors, which makes this character even more mysterious. The African natives worship Kurtz as a god. They know that the Whites from upstream want to take Kurtz back, so they will attack them to keep him with them. Kurtz as a god is also a prisoner of his subdits, he can order massacres for anyone who.