IndexIntroductionBodyMr. KurtzThe BrickmakerFinanceConclusionIntroductionThis novel is based on Conrad's experiences as a 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 learned to speak English until his twenties, soon after learning French. The Heart of Darkness occurs in the aftermath of the Scramble of Africa, in the late 19th century where several European powers split up and owned Africa like we were talking about birthday cake. Belgium was looking for the precious ivory that was hidden in the heart of Africa, it did not bother to torture and oppress the natives to obtain it. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Body The Heart of Darkness tells the journey of an ivory trafficker called Marlow, who, under the orders of the Belgian Company, enters the jungles of Africa in search of a man called Kurtz, who also seems to be considered a god and lost his sanity. The Heart of Darkness follows the nightmarish journey to the center of Africa. On a British ship called "NELLIE" where three different men listen to Marlow's stories as an agent of the Company, an ivory company. In the journey there is brutality, hatred between colonizers and African aborigines. The relationship between Kurtz and Marlow changes throughout the novel, in the first instance it is just a name for Marlow as we can see 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 we can see in line 1 of page 46 (just a few pages later in the novel) “Mr. Kurtz was a universal genius, but even a genius would have found it easier to work with intelligent men and adequate tools." As we can see only a few moments later he began to confess how excited he was at the idea of meeting that Mr. Kurtz, completely different from the indifference he talks about a few pages earlier. His fanaticism for him even leads him to say that he made the entire trip 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 invent anything about the horrible slavery scenarios he finds himself involved in, I understand that it was also part of the period he lived in, it wasn't like he was about to start a civil rights movement for blacks 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 hunger, he treats cannibals decently and when the helmsman died he ensured that the natives did not eat the his body.Mr. Kurtz Another main character (who 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, he uses some adjectives to gain advantages over others. He succumbed to the implacable and hostage of African ferocity that cost him his sanity. A very important fact about him is that most of the information we get from him are rumors, which makes this character even more mysterious. Native Africans 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 subjects, he can order massacres for every person who reveals himself, but he cannot leave freely. This character caught my attention because it is strange and very interesting to see how an honest man who had responsibilities can lose his sanity overnight.
tags