At the end of Heart of Darkness,
Marlow has returned from Africa a bitter, cynical man
. He goes to see the woman Kurtz called his “Intended” (that is, his fiancée, the woman he intended to marry) and finds that, although it is over a year since Kurtz's death, she is still deep in mourning.
What does Marlow recognize at the end of Heart of Darkness?
Kurtz and Marlow acknowledge
the darkness, the former as he is dying
, the latter as he reflects retrospectively on the meaning of Kurtz's final words.
Where does the story end in Heart of Darkness?
When she asks about Kurtz's final words, Marlow lies: “your name,” he tells her. Marlow's story ends there. Heart of Darkness itself ends
as the narrator, one of Marlow's audience
, sees a mass of brooding clouds gathering on the horizon—what seems to him to be “heart of an immense darkness.”
What happens to Kurtz at the end of Heart of Darkness?
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! The horror!” Kurtz ultimately was changed by the jungle.
What is Conrad message in Heart of Darkness?
Conrad offers parallels between London (“the greatest town on earth”) and Africa as places of darkness. Central to Conrad's work is the idea that there is little difference between “civilised people” and “savages.” Heart of Darkness
implicitly comments on imperialism and racism
.
What does Kurtz mean by the horror the horror?
And now for those famous final words: “The horror! The horror!” (3.43). Marlow interprets this for us, saying that these words are the moment Kurtz realizes exactly how
depraved human nature is
—that his inability to exert even a shred of self-control is the same darkness in every human heart.
How does Marlow interpret Kurtz's last words?
The horror!” Marlow tells us that he interprets Kurtz's final words as
“a judgement upon the adventures of his soul on this earth
.” Whatever the truth Kurtz has glimpsed, Marlow sees its perception as a “moral victory”.
Who is with Kurtz when he dies?
In his dying words as in his life, though, Kurtz creates an enigma, an object for contemplation, which certainly is something. His legacy, in fact, would seem to be
Marlow
, who, like the Russian trader, seems to have had his mind “enlarged” by Kurtz.
Why did Marlow lie about Kurtz last words?
Marlow lies to Kurtz's Intended to spare her the painful reality of her fiancé's descent into madness and evil. … Marlow lies that the last word Kurtz uttered was his fiancée's name
because “it would have been too dark”
to tell her that Kurtz last spoke of pure and desolate horror.
What does Kurtz symbolize in Heart of Darkness?
Kurtz, one of the leading characters, the other being Marlow, the narrator of the soty, represents many symbols in the novel. Firstly, he symbolizes
the greed and the commercial mentality of the white people of the western countries
. Secondly, he symbolizes the white man's love of power.
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 was Kurtz tragic flaw?
Once removed from civilization, Kurtz becomes increasingly corrupted because of the opportunity to satiate his every desire in the jungle. 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.
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. …
What is the main theme of Heart of Darkness?
Overview. The main themes of Heart of Darkness include
darkness, alienation and loneliness, and chaos and order
. Darkness: Marlow sees “darkness” in the practices of imperialism, though the book maintains the racist implication that it is the uncivilized land and people that led to Europeans' corruption.
What does Heart of Darkness teach us?
Heart of Darkness suggests that
Europeans are not essentially more highly-evolved or enlightened than the people whose territories they invade
. To this extent, it punctures one of the myths of imperialist race theory.
What are the major themes in Heart of Darkness?
- The Hypocrisy of Imperialism. Heart of Darkness explores the issues surrounding imperialism in complicated ways. …
- Madness as a Result of Imperialism. Madness is closely linked to imperialism in this book. …
- The Absurdity of Evil. …
- Futility. …
- Contradiction and Ambivalence. …
- Hollowness.
