“Fine Fellows” of the Dark
In the novella “Heart of Darkness,” by Joseph Conrad, there are few honest, complete answers given to the main character Marlow. Marlow ventures into the “delightful mystery,” of what he describes as a, “White patch for a boy to dream gloriously over… a place of darkness,” which is Africa (Conrad 8). However what Marlow finds is not like the dreams of his childhood, or what the general European population would expect. In his travels, Marlow becomes privy to something very different from his childhood dreams: Kurtz. To Marlow, Kurtz represents and exposes the truth both by being the only honest character, and by exposing man’s horrifying true nature.
As Marlow proceeds deeper and deeper into the African jungle, the sights he sees both disturb and perplex him. Popular opinion, as expressed by his aunt, is that the goal of Belgians in Africa is to wean “those ignorant millions from their horrid ways,” however Marlow continually sees things being done to the natives which go to suggest that this is not true. For example, he watches Africans being forced to work without proper rest and nutrition until they become “nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation lying confusedly” and waiting to die (17). Confused and conflicted by the horrors all around him he sees Kurtz as a glimmer of hope that there truly are people who are truly compassionate and pure of heart and intention. Marlow meets an accountant as well as a manager whom both describe how “remarkable” Kurtz is, leaving Marlow in the dark about what the truth of imperialism is.
Upon arriving at his destination and finding Kurtz, Marlow finally is forced to recognize the horrifying truth. Kurtz was Marlow’s beacon of hope during his journey, but Kurtz only serves to affirm more than ever the nihilistic, self-serving, brutish, and arrogant true-nature of man. Though Kurtz is raised up on a pedestal by the company and many others, he is really just an untamed man who has lost all societal and moral structure.
Kurtz seems to have lost his mind when Marlow finds him, or at the very least his civility. Without any governance around to monitor Kurtz’ actions, he loses his self-control over his desires. This lack of governance is what turns Kurtz wild. Perhaps Marlow’s best explanation of the wild’s impact on Kurtz is that “it had taken him, loved him, embraced him, got into his veins, consumed his flesh, and sealed his soul to his own”(48). Instead of maintaining his good nature and caring sentiment, Kurtz gives in to the temptations in the wild. All manners and desire to help the natives become “civilized” go out the window when nobody is there to keep him from joining the wild where the only law is that of his desire.
Kurtz is seduced by the freedom of the jungle and becomes just as savage, if not more so, than the natives. As described by Sigmund Freud, there are three main parts of the brain; the super-ego, ego, and id as quoted in Timmons (Timmons). Kurtz’s ego includes the rules of civilization and his understanding that it is his job to collect ivory. The id includes his instincts, such as desire for food, women, power etc. Most importantly, his super-ego served to control and balance the two parts of the brain with careful thought, acting as a sort of conscience. When Kurtz left civilization behind him and became wild, he lost his super-ego, becoming a man living without moral discretion and becoming wildly obsessed with his own power and collecting the precious ivory. Kurtz even goes as far as to threaten the life of his Russian companion who practically worships him and is his only friend, all in the name of a small portion of ivory (Conrad 56). His only concern becomes himself.
When Kurtz goes into the heart of darkness that is the center of Africa, he goes into a state of nature as famous philosopher Thomas Hobbes describes it. Kurtz becomes just as savage as the natives, but because of his weapons and knowledge is at an advantage over the natives. The ivory remains a motivator for Kurtz’ savagery. Marlow describes the cannibals and Kurtz alike as “fine fellows” while retelling the story of his experiences to his new shipmates (32, 34). When describing the cannibals, Marlow is acknowledging that they have redeeming qualities, but when describing Kurtz, Marlow is being ironic because he knows that Kurtz does not live up to his reputation. This subtle realization shows that Marlow has exposed the inconvenient truth that Englishmen are not always superior to Africans.
Additionally, Kurtz’s new personality flaws make it hard for others to stand him. Kurtz becomes out of touch with reality, making him grandiosely arrogant. Even while laying on his deathbed and leaving his “domain,” Kurtz believes himself to be on the level of a god. Kurtz exemplifies to Marlow what happens to a man and his perspective of himself when given too much power. Marlow sees the absurdity in Kurtz view of himself and his role in the wild. Marlow notes Kurtz’s mad ramblings, “‘My intended, my ivory, my station, my river, my…’ …Everything belonged to him—but that was a trifle.” (48). Everything was in Kurtz’s opinion his, because the natives had believed him to be a deity. As Kurtz had lost his grip on reality, his selfish desire for this to be true, leads him to start believing that they are right. Kurtz even has the audacity to believe that kings would come to railway stations just to meet him on his return trip, as if he were above all men (68).
Despite the fact that Kurtz is a huge disappointment to Marlow, Marlow is finally able to find the truth. As Marlow journeys into the heart of darkness, he is full of unanswered questions. One of the main questions nobody seems to be able to answer is, “What happens to men who travel into the jungle?” Kurtz is a model citizen before entering into the depths of Africa, and is therefore Marlow’s best chance at finding a man who can stay civil in a state of nature. Marlow wants to believe in his and mankind’s good. Marlow confides that he “likes to think that his summing-up would not have been a word of careless contempt” (70). However, Kurtz (thought to be the pinnacle of perfection and civility) demonstrates what happens to even the best of men in the depths of the heart of darkness. This is how Marlow’s discovery of what becomes of Kurtz in the wild is enough for Marlow to make a judgment of all mankind. As upsetting or even horrifying as it may be, the truth is that Kurtz is what happens to men with no external regulation. The wild takes over even the most civilized of men without exception, because man is evil when not forced to be good.
Kurtz also represents the truth in another way. Marlow emphasizes how he feels about falsehoods when raving to the narrator, “I hate, detest, and can’t bear a lie… simply because it appals me” ([sic] 27). Marlow’s resentment towards lies explains why he does not completely loathe Marlow, in spite of his critical flaws. Marlow likes how even if the truth is ugly, Kurtz does not try to hide his true intentions. While others try to sugar coat their exploitation of the natives or claim that their goal is to save them, Kurtz tells the truth and admits that he simply wishes to “’Exterminate all the brutes!’” (50). As gruesome and nihilistic as Kurtz may be, he is the only truly honest man Marlow finds, so finally hearing the truth for once is refreshing regardless of what the truth is.
Kurtz exemplifies the brutish, selfish, nihilistic, arrogant qualities of human kind when left to its own devices and not regulated. Kurtz’s character flaws go to show how terrible true human nature is. Marlow’s use of irony, and sarcastic euphemisms when retelling the story of his journey, shows his resentment towards society’s feigned civility. Marlow sarcastically describes imperialism as “the noble cause “ as well as “high and just proceedings” to show his contempt for it (9,16) Irony is apparent when he describes the infatuation with the horrible acts done in the name of imperialism, despite how hard they are to witness, as “the fascination of the abomination” (6).
Even after returning from Africa, Marlow holds what he has learned about mankind against them, and resents their ignorance. Having seen such horrors as those in the Congo, he cannot help but be bothered that people who have not can go on living their lives in a normal manner. When after seeing such death and despair and losing faith in man, Marlow expresses how he could not stand to see people unaware of the truth of imperialism “devour there infamous cookery, gulp their unwholesome beer, and to dream their insignificant dreams”(70). Ignorance is bliss, and Marlow loses both. His discovery of the truth and his illness have a strong enough impact to make Marlow stumble about the line between sanity and insanity.
Marlow may have admired that Kurtz was honest, in contrast with all the other men he meets working in the name of imperialism, but he attested the actions of both. Marlow describes the experience of meeting Kurtz having thrown “a kind of light on everything about… and into [his] thoughts.” (7). Marlow describes this light, which metaphorically represents Kurtz’s exposure of the truth, as “pitiful—not extraordinary in any way” (7). Marlow hates to be lied to, so it is ironic that the horrifying truth that partially destroys him and impacts the rest of his life leads him to resent everyone around him. In conclusion, Kurtz is, by Marlow, both admired for his straightforwardness, and abhorred for proving the destructive self-serving nature of man.
