Ashley Mbualungu
Professor Timmons
English 105
9/23/2010
How Potential for Success Can Lead to Savagery
In the novella, Heart of Darkness, Kurtz, who was once portrayed as visionary and was well-respected unwillingly becomes a “savage” and puts his life to waste once he commences his life in the jungles of Congo, Africa. It is shown that Kurtz’s demise was treated with little to no respect by the pilgrims being that he was shoved into the ground without much care. For a man that was highly recognized with reverence, should have had a sophisticated burial because the certain initiative is what we our taught to do, especially in terms of death. The situation simply makes me ask myself why a man that was once looked at with such ambition was received poor treatment. Kurtz’s characteristics throughout the novella are where the answers to the question lie because the situation contrasts with his past.
Marlow has the knowledge that Kurtz is in Africa to join the Company and be chief so that he can leave Europe. When he is first mentioned about Kurtz from the accountant, the accountant describes Kurtz as “a very remarkable person” (19) who “sends in as much ivory as all the others put together” (19). Although, when Marlow first meets the accountant he is presented with amazement in his appearance. “I met a white man in such an unexpected elegance of get-up that in the first moment I took him for a sort of vision… He was amazing, and had a penholder behind his ear” (18). Marlow, throughout the novella, presented us with irony as he describes the looks of the accountant, sort of bringing himself lower than him. Marlow must think that this accountant is a great example of the Europeans and how they view themselves as superior which leads to Kurtz, the once higher man. Marlow is short of knowledge about Kurtz, and how he does not plan to stay in Africa for a long period of time because he has other goals he wants to achieve, yet his stay has been prolonged. The fact that he did not leave Africa sooner reflects on how he has become a savage himself. At this point, as we see, Kurtz “had immense plans” (65) to civilize the savage people of Africa, collect precious ivory and has plans of gaining more respect in Europe as a result of his goals. People who know Kurtz truly believe that he has the ambition and greatness to greatly succeed in life. His success drive causes him the need to gain more and more success. This novel is filled with many different aspects of dreams and goals and Kurtz realizes he is basically capable of anything leading him to the point of no self-control bringing us to the whole “savage” talk, exactly how he was buried.
As time passes and the more Kurtz spends in the depths of the wilderness and environmental jungles, his once character viewed as “eloquent” and former persona begins to slowly vanish away. He is becoming surely too into himself and is becoming wrapped up into the idea of wealth and success and feels like his job of enlightening the savages will be very beneficial to his career. Kurtz is obsessed with wanting to expand on his success and has the mentality that the people of Europe would be sure to respect him even more. Soon enough, his overlooked death is what captivates us all. “I am lying here in the dark waiting for death” (69). This indicates that it is during his last moments that Kurtz realizes himself that he has been slowly but indubitably weakened by the wilderness. “The horror! The horror!” (69) are Kurtz final breathy whispers leading him to his savaged burial. I believe that his words symbolize his cry and criticism for the universe; he is expressing grief for the world and realizes he has been changed.
Marlow has always wanted to meet Kurtz for himself and not let anyone manipulate his mind of what they thought of him, and when he finally did he had interesting things to say about him. It is also during his last moments where Marlow confesses that Kurtz was “a remarkable man” (70) that “had something to say” and “said it” (70). His words “rang deep to the very last” (67) and “it survived his strength to hide in the magnificent folds eloquence the barren darkness of his heart” (68). Marlow notices that there is some sort of trouble with Kurtz in accepting that there is struggle in his mind. He wonders if Kurtz can somehow put into reverse what has happened to him. It is questioning why the Company thinks otherwise of Kurtz and it is simply because Kurtz gave into the darkness that was lying within himself and his was “an impenetrable darkness” (68). Remaining in Africa for such long period of time with having almost little to no power while being head of the Company, Kurtz is left with no restraints and slips into the darkness. According to Marlow, a sense of darkness lies within us all and can be revealed once we step out of civilization and as we see, Kurtz’s struggles and his now “wastes of a weary brain were haunted by shadowy images” (68).
Despite the unoriginal Kurtz that is buried, throughout the novella we see Marlow as having a theme or concept about truth. Truth about Kurtz, his persona, the pilgrims, and the station seems to be revealed. Marlow is in fact affected by Kurtz’s death and realizes the reality of speaking with Kurtz’s Intended who happens to be a woman that loved Kurtz very much. She claims that Kurtz saw her as the best thing ever but she was quite oblivious to the real Kurtz. “What a loss to me—to us…To the World” (75). Even the Intended truly believes that her beloved was ahead of the success game and now there would be nothing left but “sorrow” (75). Marlow at this point tries to reassure her and like most Europeans, she is not aware of how Africa changes men quite effortlessly and Kurtz was without a doubt one of them. She still wants to believe in her heart that he was a good man. Marlow, who is all about truth and “can’t bear a lie” (34) throughout the novella, tells the Intended that the last word Kurtz pronounced was “her name” (77) which gave her a sense of relief. Marlow has the satisfaction that he would rather have her not know the “truth” which reflects on Kurtz because he only saw her as an object anyway, exactly how he viewed the savages. Marlow in this case clearly tells her a lie, covering up the truth completely. This goes to show how Marlow simply did not want to hurt her nor did he want to experience the retelling of how Kurtz had passed away especially to the Intended. Marlow being the skeptical person that he is realizes that Kurtz’s death brings him slight pain which is another reason he chooses not to tell her the truth, he would have to go through the feeling of telling her how Kurtz has become a savage in his final days of living. Kurtz’s many talents and power to lead hastily went to waste as he was buried without a care as a savage “in a muddy hole” (69).
As this novella is filled with irony, it is ironic that Kurtz’s death, which so happens to be unfortunate, brings Marlow somewhat of a relief and success. “Oh, I wasn’t touched. I was fascinated. It was though a veil had been rent. I saw on that ivory face the expression of somber pride, of ruthless power, of craven terror” (69). Even though Kurtz slips into the depths of the wilderness of Africa, he still has overcome many struggles that many men wouldn’t even dare to do. He has great ambition for the Company and truly believes that "Each station should be like a beacon on the road toward better things, a center for trade of course but also for humanizing, improving, instructing.” (37) While Marlow is dying to meet Kurtz in the beginning of the story, Kurtz’s intentions are to stop for nothing except to collect as much ivory as possible. This is exactly how Kurtz loses touch with reality; it is because he is caught up in his fantasy world of power and money and now he is nothing but a defeated man “lying at the bottom of a precipice where the sun never shines” (68). Marlow is in fact right, for as long as human beings have been around, they have always wanted to have power over those who they felt were below them and Kurtz is exceptionally power hungry. Kurtz actions almost might as well be viewed as ignorant. By that, the rest of the Company perceives Kurtz, the big man, as a savage and his potential sophistication of a burial turns out to be equivalent to that of a savage person.
Works Cited
Armstrong, Paul B., ed. Heart of Darkness. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006.
