From the beginning, Marlow seems to have this fascination with Kurtz.
Kurtz is a well-known man in the ivory trading field and there are many rumors
going around, which make Marlow anticipate his meeting with him. While the
obvious distinction between the two is status, Kurtz is much like a mentor to
Marlow, there are also moral differences.
Marlow is considered the
protagonist in this book. He possesses many characteristics of the typical
“hero”. He is tough, honest, smart, and knows right from wrong, morally, this
is what separates them from each other. Throughout the book, we see Kurtz be
taken over by “darkness”, as Marlow describes it. Kurtz transforms from a
normal person, seeking to help the natives, to a corrupt, power seeking man.
Although Kurtz is transformed for the worse, Marlow seems to keep his morals
intact, and never succumbs to those evils that have taken over Kurtz. This
contrast between the two shows how some resist outside forces that change them,
and come surrender to it, making it a prime example for the differences in the human
condition.
I agree in the fact that the two characters are meant to offset each other. Even though they both have the options to abuse power in the Congo, Marlow stays relatively blameless and Kurtz becomes mad with power and frankly quite savage. It is astounding and disturbing to think that our tendencies define us; Marlow is moral, and Kurtz isn't, and the reason for that is all personality.
ReplyDeleteThe way you described Marlow's fascination with Kurtz reminded me of a quote by John Green: "Isn't it also that on some fundamental level we find it difficult to understand that other people are human beings in the same way that we are? We idealize them as gods or dismiss them as animals." Here, Marlow is so idealized upon Kurtz's enthralling presence that he does not know when to disconnect his own beliefs from that of Kurtz. This, in turn, leads Marlow's morality to be negated in favor of someone he praises. As humans, do we not all tend to occasionally make the same mistake? This is an archetypal flaw that courses within human condition.
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