Joseph Conrad's "Heart Of Darkness" In the novel Heart of Darkness, written by Joseph Conrad, Marlow, young seaman finds himself in a position where he is faced to accept the fact that the man he has admired and looked up to is a madman. He realizes that Kurtz's methods are not only unethical, but also inhumane. Marlow realizes that Kurtz is evil, and that he himself is also evil, thus Marlow's disillusion makes his identification with Kurtz horrifying. Throughout the story Conrad builds an unhealthy darkness that never allows the reader to forget the focus of the story. As Marlow travels up the Congo river in Africa, he is constantly preoccupied with Kurtz. From the beginning of his trip, Marlow compares Kurtz to all of the people that he comes into contact with, and a great deal of his thoughts are of Kurtz. He wonders how he will measure up to the standards that the company set for him, what Kurtzs personality is like, and what Kurtz would think of him. The more obsessed he becomes with Kurtz, the more he sets himself up for the horrible reality of what his new idol was truly made of. Upon reaching Kurtzs station, Marlow disillusion starts to take place. He is greeted by an English-speaking Russian whom he takes for a deceitful man, but after short conversation it is apparent to Marlow that he is talking with a disturbed individual. Hearing and seeing the acts committed by Kurtz made Marlow afraid. It was at this point that Marlow begins his denial of any affinity he feels with Kurtz. He says in regard to the Russian "I suppose that it had not occurred to him that Mr. Kurtz was no idol of mine"(73). Marlow sees all of the atrocities committed by Kurtz, and is appalled, but when he looks deep with inside himself he sees what he could easily become, and he desperately wants to suppress it. Once Kurtz is on the boat, and headed with Marlow back to civilization, things take a strange turn. Nevertheless Marlow and...
