Thursday, March 26, 2015
Heart of Darkness Prompt #17
In the early stages of the novel Kurtz is described as a great man that possesses an ambition that knows no bounds, but this is all told to Marlow which only makes Kurtz's reputation grow. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. This is the major problem that Kurtz comes across throughout his time at the inner station and ultimately the major factor in his madness. He knows that he must act like a god to get the primitive natives to follow his lead, and this leads the unbridled power and greed that Kurtz finds himself engrossed in. Once Kurtz reaches the inner station and finds that nobody will challenge his authority, the greed and ambition inside him comes alive as he becomes the leading producer of ivory in the company. Contrary to the reputation that proceeds him, once Marlow finally lays eyes on Kurtz he realizes that the man that he has been searching for is quickly withering away into madness both mentally and physically. As Kurtz's soul and body are dissolving it is overwhelmingly clear that the darkness of Africa permanently tainted this man and slowly caused his life to erode. Kurtz's path to insanity is important because it shows the ability of power to suck all the humanity of a man.
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I wonder that if Kurtz had taken a different approach to building a relationship with the natives, would he have kept his sanity? If he formed more of a coalition with them instead of a tyranny, the power he held over them would not be very significant. This could also lead into his true intentions and motives. Was he only searching for power, or did he really want to make a difference in this dark spot of the world. I also believe that the abandonment of his power when Marlow convinced him to leave sped up the process of his death. He could not physically or emotionally live without his power. He even tried to escape the steamboat to stay with the natives in the land that kept poisoning him. Power was like a drug to him, he had to have it all. When it was taken from him he was nothing, and this realization was the death of him.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Madisen's question of the possibility that Kurtz could have kept sain if he had maintained some sort of relationship with the natives. Yet, I also agreed with the thought of Colin's that power can suck mentally and physically the sanity out of a man, thus showing the true Heart of Darkness in Africa. Furthering the question of was he simply searching for power? Or some type of way to make a better place in the Heart of Darkness? The power overwhelmed Kurtz to the extent of it leaving him with nothing, or as nothing. He simply could not bear the realization that without this power he was nothing, this furthering his death as Madisen said.
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