By the time Marlow, the protagonist, sees Kurtz, he is ill with
jungle fever
and almost dead. Marlow seizes Kurtz and endeavors to take him back down the river in his steamboat. Kurtz dies on the boat with the last words, “The horror!
What does Kurtz death symbolize in Heart of Darkness?
Darkness prevails when he dies, symbolizing that
his actions were evil
. Thus, it is Kurtz's realization of the bitter and absolute truth of his life.
Why does Kurtz die?
While he used to worry about the best ways to bring (as his painting demonstrates) the “light” of civilization to the Congo, he dies
as a man believing that the Company should simply “Exterminate all the brutes!”
What was Kurtz downfall?
Eventually, Kurtz
becomes so corrupted that he goes insane
and lets his greed overwhelm him. His unrestrained power, desire, and pride lead to his tragic downfall. His moral degeneration and corrupted soul is reflected in his last words, “The horror!
Why does Marlow kill Kurtz?
The nearness of the natives puts Marlow in danger, and Kurtz is going to die soon anyway. Yet to kill Kurtz would not only be hypocritical but, for Marlow, impossible. As Marlow perceives it, Kurtz's “crime” is
that he has rejected all of the principles and obligations that make up European society
.
Why Kurtz say the horror the horror?
What do Kurtz's last words mean? Kurtz's last words—“The horror! … More likely, these words
reflect Kurtz's failure to achieve his many lofty goals and fulfill his destiny, and he cannot help but utter in despair as the emptiness of his own life envelopes him
.
Why do the natives like Kurtz?
In Heart of Darkness, the natives adore Kurtz and
worship him as a demigod partly because of his personal charisma
, but also because he has superior European technology which they have never seen before.
What happens after Kurtz dies?
For Kurtz, the imminence of
death ironically causes him to seek to return to the world from which he had “kicked himself loose
.” Suddenly, his legacy and his ideas seem very important to him, and he turns to Marlow to preserve them. … Kurtz dies. His last words are paradoxically full of meaning yet totally empty.
Is Kurtz good or bad?
The primary antagonist in Heart of Darkness is Kurtz, whose descent into madness makes him the clearest embodiment of corruption and evil in the novella, and ultimately the character that fully disillusions Marlow in regard to European conquests. Marlow learns more about Kurtz the further he travels. …
Was Kurtz a good man?
One of the most enigmatic characters in twentieth-century literature, Kurtz is a petty tyrant, a dying god, an embodiment of Europe, and an assault on European values. Kurtz is
a dangerous man
because he gives the lie to the Company's “humanistic” intentions in the Congo. …
How did Kurtz control the natives?
While the Belgians use deception to make the world believe they are in the Congo in order to help the natives, Kurtz uses this deception to
ensure the natives' belief that he is some kind of god
.
What does Kurtz in German mean?
German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname
for someone who was short in stature
, from Middle High German kur(t)z, German kurz ‘short'.
Is Marlow a tragic hero?
Marlow achieves distinction by infusing the Renaissance spirit in
his tragic
hero. Dr. Faustus wanted to support his own plot to make his own decision. With his yearning for knowledge, he proceeds to study necromancy.
Why does Kurtz threaten to kill the Russian?
Why did Kurtz threaten to shoot the young Russian?
From a chief near his house. The chief gave it to him because he gave his village some meat
. this amazing tale the Russian had been struggling to tell was true.
Why does Marlow stay loyal to Kurtz?
This kinship was kept sacred by Marlow past Kurtz's demise as he vowed to sustain his memory and withhold his promises. Peering deeper into the primary reason for the peculiar relationship revealed that Marlow's loyalty resides
in the perception of the aura of Kurtz
, not in the man himself.
What do the cannibals eat in Heart of Darkness?
Marlow realizes that the cannibals must be terribly hungry, as they have not been allowed to go ashore to trade for supplies, and their only food,
a supply of rotting hippo meat
, was long since thrown overboard by the pilgrims.
