Early in the 20th century, Joseph Conrad penned the book Heart of Darkness. It is regarded as one of the most significant books ever written, particularly in pre-1910 writing. The book was written by the author as a result of his extensive knowledge of the surroundings and his personal encounter with colonial oppression in Africa in the 1800s. One of the protagonists in The Heart of Darkness is named Kurtz. His father was half French and half English like his mother. He is an ivory trader in the book who is sent to the Congo, in the heart of Africa, by a German firm. He initially entered Africa with the aim of bringing the locals up to speed. However, at some point, greed overcame him later leading to his demise. Due to his superiority in technology, he becomes a charismatic god among all the tribes around him and uses this aspect to gather a vast amount of ivory. Consequently, Kurtz is known all over the region and his general manager becomes jealous and plans to bring him down. This paper will focus on the analysis of the character Kurtz from the novel Heart of Darkness.
Kurtz is mysterious in most part of the novel and easily forms a pair with the other characters. What each character says about Kurtz reveals the character's personality (Fiorenza 22). For some, he is the company's chief agent: a first class agent ,a remarkable person whom sends in as much ivory as the rest put together (Conrad 60). As the person Marlow meet in the station, "he is a prodigy….an emissary of pity and science and devil knows what else (Conrad 16) the young Russian says "Mr. Kurtz has done more good than evil to the company. He did not realize time was ripe for action. Cautiously that is my principle. We must be cautious yet. The district is closed for a time to us. Deplorable !." Conrad 63). For each of the characters, Kurtz is whatever they require him to be for a period. In life he is a top man, however, when his ways become known the management frowns at him; not for mistreating human beings but for disruption of the trade of ivory. In his death, the servant boy derides him. Due to his mysterious nature, Kurtz is able to fill all the roles and all the people speaking about him in hushed tones only act to build mystery around him building and a loop of feedback (Fiorenza 31).
Kurtz is greedy just like most colonizers who show desire for power, wealth, and fame. Kurtz had was very interested in power, fame and wealth. The author describes him as a person who has great eloquence, has absolute power in the station where he worked and outstanding capacity (Conrad 16). This is demonstrated by the ability he had to make everything and everyone under his control work and his terrible methods of gathering ivory. He also uses his cruelty as a weapon for him; at one time, he had threatened to shoot a needy Russian if he did not surrender his small amount of ivory to him (Kurtz) which proves his greed and cruelty (Wesley 29).
Everything about Kurtz is very short beginning from the ivory agent career, to his fame as an orator, as well as his life. However, the influence he has on some people lasts for a lifetime. For instance, Marlow says the journey towards meeting Kurtz was a nightmare that lasts for a lifetime and would not fade from his memory. Further, even after working hard, he did not achieve his happiness (Fiorenza 38). Despite him being bloody and brutal to the whites and the natives, so many people got rich thought the ivory that Kurtz collected risking both his life and conscience. However, he did not benefit as much as the others did and ended up fighting with himself. When Marlow realizes that Kurtz is fighting with himself, he is the only person who is sympathetic to him but could do nothing about changing his fate of being swallowed by the wilderness (Wesley 21).
Kurtz is "hollow"; Conrad depicts him as a person who is not fully realized but is a series of images made by others for them to utilize. When Marlow learns of a Kurtz being a "remarkable man" (Conrad 307) from an ailing man, he slowly gains interest in Kurtz. During Marlow's visit with a journalist, Kurtz fiancé and his cousin, each has a varying statement about him, which makes the reader believe there, is no true Kurtz. In addition, all the views of the three people contrast the version of Kurtz that Marlow has which makes him doubt the validity of his memory. However, from the novel it is clear that Kurtz has shown each of the four people a different persona and mask as though it was crafted specifically and perfectly for each of them. Kurtz views the native as more than mere instruments to be used for work; he sees them as useful tools and uses their humanity for his own progress (Wesley 26). Due to this reason, his corrupt nature is considered his true self since he believed that he is more enlightened through his ultimate claim of divinity and his corruption hence he has lost his original identity.
Despite his malice and bad reputation, Kurtz has a positive side; he is both hard working and multitalented. He is famous for his skills as a musician, writer, painter and a prospective politician. As a writer, he has authored a pamphlet about the civilization of the locals or the natives. The author of the Heart of Darkness brings him out a as a person who knows the power of his words. The author says the writings of Kurtz are "marked by an eloquence that obscures their horrifying message" (Conrad 287). He has also painted the picture of a woman blindfolded and holding a torch against an almost dark background, which brings him out as a talented painter. Besides, when Marlow visits Kurtz's cousin the journalist and his fiancée, they were all full of praise for Kurtz demonstrating his diverse talent and hard work. His cousin viewed him as a great musician, the journalist thought of him as a brilliant politician, and a leader while his fiancée talked of him as a genius and great humanitarian (Conrad 352).
Conclusion
When he was first sent to Africa, Kurtz had good intentions of civilizing the natives in Africa. However due to greed he forgets his mission, becomes brutal and acquires a heart of darkness. He comes up with evil methods of collecting ivory even at the expense of his life. At some point, he threatened to shoot a poor Russian if he did not surrender his ivory. He also sees himself as a demigod due to his fame in the region and the power he possesses. His use of power and greed for ivory finally leads to his death. Kurtz is a brought out as a person who is mysterious; every character in the novel has a different picture of him and has something very different to say about him.
Works Cited
Conrad, Joseph. "Heart of darkness." Joseph Conrad: Three Novels. Macmillan Education UK, 1995.
Fiorenza, Frank. Heart of Darkness (MAXNotes Literature Guides). Research & Education Assoc., 2015.
Wesley, Charlie. "Inscriptions of resistance in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness." Journal of Modern Literature 38.3 (2015):
