Heart of Darkness

A) The Congo River and references to water in this novel were prevalent symbols due to their representation of rebirth. As Marlow is taken on a journey into the depths of his soul, he is faced with a choice between morality and evil. Marlow is forced to face his dark side and is given the opportunity to see the consequences of evil as represented by the character Kurtz. "The brown current ran swiftly out of the heart of darkness, bearing us down towards the sea with twice the speed of our upward progress" (Conrad 151).

This quote describes how Marlow is confronted with the evil within himself and has choosen to deny it; though he was tempted at first to succumb. With his choice, Marlow is reborn. He started out unsure of himself and not aware of his capacity to lose control, as Kurtz did. He had been niave and in search of nothing more than adventure and gratification. Marlow is met by the good vs. evil within while taking his journey and he is cleansed in that he comes out a different person; one more secure in his own personality. Marlow says he leaves the heart of darkness with twice the speed of entering it. He hurries out of the "heart of darkness" because of the frightening experiences he encountered and does not want to have to face again. Marlow chose to retain his morality and humanity and no longer wants to be anywhere near the kind of horror he has now been exposed to.

B.) " 'You show them you have in you something that is really profitable, and then there will be no limits to the recognition of your ability,' he would say. 'Of course you must take care of the motives-right motives-always.' " (Conrad 152).
This quote was particularly ironic coming from Kurtz who clearly did not have the right motives in mind at all. This represents how even though Kurtz fully understands the cruelty and horror he committed, he believes it was worth it in order to achieve personal recognition. He does not seem to regret his actions but embraces them as the price for glory. I believe Kurtz has become mentally ill in an obsession to be recognized at all costs. Through this quote it is fairly evident that he does not believe what he did was so horrible. He does not appear to mind that he had to acheive recognition through a complete loss of morality. Kurtz let his ego take over, essentially allowing his inner evil to dictate his actions.

Conrad uses diction by writing "motives-right motives". He rephrases Kurtz's original statement in order to emphasize the absurdity of Kurtz's words. No one in their right mind would consider Kurtz's actions as taking care of the right motives; he lost complete control of himself in a mad attempt for power. His absurdity is evident in that he actually believes he made an appropriate choice in reverting to savagery.

C.) Although Heart of Darkness was difficult to comprehend and took some time to break down, I enjoyed the symbolism represented through Kurtz. When analyzed closely it is pretty safe to say that Kurtz was a figurative representation of the evil in Marlow's soul. The way Kurtz is never really referred to as a solid human being and generally mentioned as a 'voice' or a 'shadow' is indicative of Kurtz being a symbolic figure. I think Marlow is able to confront his inner evil through his figurative journey to the depths of his own soul.

I did not really like the way Conrad portrayed women in the novel. He depicted them as innocent and unaware of the presence of evil. Kurtz's girlfriend and Marlow's aunt are both representative of this viewpoint. Kurtz's girlfriend is made out to be extremely niave and ignorant of the true nature of Kurtz's personality. Marlow's aunt is portrayed in a similar way in that she has no comprehension of the Company or any of the evil associated with it. The women in the novel seem to have a rosy picture of the world. This kind of annoyed me because women can be just as evil as men and this portrayl of women as niave and innocent is biased.