Through out the novella The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad the main character Marlow has this interest with another character Kurtz. Throughout the whole story Marlow is traveling up the Congo to find Kurtz. Marlow first gets his job from his aunt. Though it was his aunt that got him the job it was because of an unfortunate accident that he got it. The previous captain of his now new ship/boat was killed in the Congo; when he got in a dispute over not getting the amount of chickens he paid for. So Marlow gets the job and is now off to find Kurtz.
From what Marlow is told Kurtz is suppose to be this amazing fantastic guy. He was that “torch” the main source of light that everyone looked up to as their guidance. “ he was a first class agent” (19). This being said means he was one of the best maybe even THE best agent out there. It then goes on to say “ He is a remarkable person”(19). This shows that he also was a well respected person that people trusted. The respect and trust went as far as this being said; “ He will be a somebody in the administration before long. They, above - the council in Europe, you know - mean him to be.”(19). This shows the high hopes that every one in Europe has for Kurtz. Hearing all this amazing stuff about Kurtz this is where Marlow found his fascination. If it was me I would find fascination as well. Who wouldn’t? if someone got the opportunity to find this first class agent or someone they look up to, there would be that fascination. In this story in the beginning I feel that to Marlow that is what Kurtz is. Kurtz is that person that Marlow may strive to be.
Throughout Kurtz’s trip trough the jungle is definitely changes. He starts out as that “first class agent” that everyone looked up to. He goes out in to the jungle in search of Ivory. So he is out in search of this Ivory and ends up finding it amongst many different villages/tribes. So he takes it. As he is going along he starts to get power hungry. He wants control and all the ivory he can get. Though this is what he wants, it is not what the natives of the land want. So he now turns basically evil. He starts killing innocent people and destroying villages just to get this ivory. The ivory has made him power hungry and the need to want more.
In the end of the book Marlow does eventually find Kurtz and notices that not only has he become this evil person but also the face that he is dying. Though Marlow knows all the terrible things that Kurtz has done he still seems to have this fascination in him. Marlow remains there where he found Kurtz and stays there until Kurtz dies. His last dying words were “The Horror! The Horror!”. there are amny ways that one can possibly interpret this phrase. To me its him thinking about all that has become of him and what he has done. The horror of the greed of ivory and what it can do to a person. He started out as a “first class agent” then turned into the “horror” in peoples mind.
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