Kurtz Savagery
To Live or to Die
As stated by Professor Rosenthal, characters are not people, and they are apart of an author’s bag of tricks to make a point. I believe the author of Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, used that character Kurtz as a symbol to represent savagery. Savagery can be defined as an uncontrolled, fierce and hostile individual. I believe there is a certain degree of darkness/savagery that lies within every being, but it does not always emerge, and if so can prevail to the point of ultimate destruction, that is Mr. Kurtz. We come to know and form our opinions about him by reading the story chapter-by-chapter, narrated by the character, Marlow. To fully understand Kurtz’ representation it’s crucial to first know what the author’s …show more content…
The longer Kurtz is in that kind of chaos, the more he loses his sanity. It’s not good for anyone to be in a situation where all structure is lost. One thing we don’t know from reading The Heart of Darkness, is whether or not Kurtz has always been like this or if its been hidden and Africa is to blame for the out bringing of this Hyde like character. As readers, we are not aware of the ways that Kurtz lived by. We know he has a woman in his life, but do we know the kind of relationship he upholds with her, or anyone else by that means? Kurtz is a mystery that we try and piece together. Reading this made me think a lot of about real life, relative to everyday people. Does everyone have an alter ego, and are some more refined than others at keeping it in? I feel that everyone has his or her own place of darkness. At some point in life, everyone goes through an abstruse phase, Kurtz’ being in the Congo. If I was stranded in an unknown place with no friends or family, completely on my own, I don’t know how I would make it. Kurtz is in that same situation; he made it work, and although he has become this savage like character, its how he’s surviving in the Congo. This is the point where Conrad is doing a great job at making the readers really think about how Mr. Kurtz should be
As stated by Professor Rosenthal, characters are not people, and they are apart of an author’s bag of tricks to make a point. I believe the author of Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, used that character Kurtz as a symbol to represent savagery. Savagery can be defined as an uncontrolled, fierce and hostile individual. I believe there is a certain degree of darkness/savagery that lies within every being, but it does not always emerge, and if so can prevail to the point of ultimate destruction, that is Mr. Kurtz. We come to know and form our opinions about him by reading the story chapter-by-chapter, narrated by the character, Marlow. To fully understand Kurtz’ representation it’s crucial to first know what the author’s …show more content…
The longer Kurtz is in that kind of chaos, the more he loses his sanity. It’s not good for anyone to be in a situation where all structure is lost. One thing we don’t know from reading The Heart of Darkness, is whether or not Kurtz has always been like this or if its been hidden and Africa is to blame for the out bringing of this Hyde like character. As readers, we are not aware of the ways that Kurtz lived by. We know he has a woman in his life, but do we know the kind of relationship he upholds with her, or anyone else by that means? Kurtz is a mystery that we try and piece together. Reading this made me think a lot of about real life, relative to everyday people. Does everyone have an alter ego, and are some more refined than others at keeping it in? I feel that everyone has his or her own place of darkness. At some point in life, everyone goes through an abstruse phase, Kurtz’ being in the Congo. If I was stranded in an unknown place with no friends or family, completely on my own, I don’t know how I would make it. Kurtz is in that same situation; he made it work, and although he has become this savage like character, its how he’s surviving in the Congo. This is the point where Conrad is doing a great job at making the readers really think about how Mr. Kurtz should be