Marlow And Kurtz's Fianc example essay topic

Characters 1. The protagonist of Heart of Darkness is a person named Charlie Marlow. Oddly, his name only appears once in the novel. Marlow is philosophical, independent-minded, and generally skeptical of those around him. He is also a master storyteller, eloquent and able to draw his listeners into his tale.

Although Marlow shares many of his fellow Europeans' prejudices, he has seen enough of the world and enough debased white men to make him skeptical of imperialism. An example of Marlow being independent-minded and philosophical is when he takes a trip up a river, as a break from working on ships. Marlow describes the trip as a journey back in time, to a "prehistoric earth". This remark on how he regards colonized people as primitive, which is his philosophical viewpoint. 2. Of all the characters in the book, the only one with somewhat of a negative connotation is the character of the general manager (of the Company (the boating company) ).

He is the chief agent of the Company in its African territory, who runs the Central Station. He owes his success to a robust constitution that allows him to outlive all of his competitors. He is average in appearance and unremarkable in abilities, but he possesses a strange capacity to produce uneasiness in those around him, keeping everyone sufficiently alert (against their will) for him to exert his control over them. An example of the manager producing uneasiness in others is when he learns of Kurtz's sick condition, he actually gets happy, because now he can have more control of the group as an individual. Kurtz was the unofficial leader, and soon, the manager could "move in". 3.

Kurtz, who is not the protagonist or antagonist is a very significant character in the book as Marlow and Kurtz essentially form a team as the novel progresses. He is the chief of the Inner Station and Marlow basically follows him. Kurtz is a man of many talents (he is a talented musician and painter). His abilities are nothing without his charisma and his ability to lead. Kurtz is a man who understands the power of words, and his writings present a complexity that obscures their horrifying message (his writings are often hard to understand, as they are complex in structure, often hiding the morbid message behind them). Although he remains a "puzzle", even to Marlow, Kurtz puts forth a powerful influence on the people in his life.

His downfall is a result of his willingness to ignore the rules that govern European culture: Kurtz has "kicked himself loose of the earth" by associating too much with the natives. Kurtz demonstrates his ability to lead when he meets Marlow. Right away, it is evident that Marlow will be a follower of Kurtz, and that Kurtz will be the more dominant one. Kurtz is always the one that pilots the boat, while Marlow watches.

The brick maker at the central station is fairly significant and also humorous in a way. He is a favorite of the manager and seems to be a kind of spy. He never actually produces any bricks, as he is supposedly waiting for some essential material that never actually arrives. He is petty and devious and assumes that other people are too.

His deviousness is exemplified directly by him being a spy. 4. Marlow encounters a few problems. One being that, while in search of firewood, the crew of the Nellie find some near a seemingly abandoned hut, but upon taking it, are ambushed by natives with bows and arrows.

No one is hurt, except the African helmsman, who is killed. Marlow frightens the natives away with the ship's steam whistle. Not long after, Marlow and his companions arrive at Kurtz's Inner Station, expecting to find him dead, but a Russian trader, who meets them as they come ashore, assures them that everything is fine and informs them that he is the one who left the wood. The main problem, though, (is actually a collection of occurrences that happen around the same time), the most prevalent being the death of his Kurtz.

Kurtz becomes ill at some point, and the illness is eating away at his health quickly. Marlow listens to Kurtz talk while he pilots the ship, and Kurtz entrusts Marlow with a packet of personal documents, including a powerful-looking pamphlet on civilizing the savages which ends with a scrawled message that says, "Exterminate all the brutes!" The steamer breaks down, and they have to stop for repairs (this is a reflection of Joseph Conrad's work in France when he repaired ships as a sailor). Kurtz dies; his last words were "The horror! The horror!" Marlow does not know what this all means. Marlow gets sick soon after Kurtz dies and barely survives. Eventually he returns to Europe and goes to see Kurtz's fianc " ee, who is still mourning (after a year).

Marlow tells her that Kurtz's last words were her name. 5. Marlow and Kurtz are similar in a few ways. Both Marlow and Kurtz are philosophical and skeptical. They are also both independent (which goes along with being skeptical). They can both persuade people through words (Kurtz, in particular).

Both of them are prejudice, but Marlow is skeptical of imperialism. 6. The general manager can strangely but logically be compared to Adolph Hitler. The manager is very successful due to somewhat of a monopoly. He has remarkable abilities, but can make people around him feel uneasy. He can keep everyone around him uneasy about his control over him or her.

Setting 7. The novel takes place in the early 1900's (in the time frame of 1900-1905), in Europe. Most of the novel takes place on or near the sea, and in ports, docks, and harbors. 8.

The setting of European seas in the 1900's is very different from my own environment, looking at the facts that my environment is not in Europe, is not on the sea or in boats or ships, and the novel's setting takes place a century before my time. On the other hand, upon comparing my environment with that of the novel, it is evident that there is a body of water somewhat near me, and some people in the same area unquestionably go boating, maybe in sailboats, etc. It is not as specialized as the boating in the novel, however, where they have large yawls to go about in. 9. Given the choice to live in the 1900's in Europe close to the sea, I would rather not live there because going back in time means reversing all of the accomplishments humans have made in medicine and technology, etc., and I would rather advance the accomplishments / inventions that allow me to make my life easier. Plot 10.

The opening scene in the novel was very calm, taking place after a flood, which apparently did not cause much damage, as the Nellie, the ship used throughout the book, is still in one piece. I have no problems with the opening scene. I would have liked it better if it would have started during the flood, so that a sense of action could be obtained. 11. When Kurtz dies of his illness, his fianc " ee's life is changed fundamentally. A year after his death, she is still not over him.

This also changes Marlow's life, mainly because of Kurtz's last words, which were "The horror! The horror!" This confused Marlow, and, frankly, it scared him. 12. I work on cars and computers (in both cases, mechanically); this is comparable to how Marlow (Conrad's alter ego) works on boats.

Also, I have had a few relatives die, and seeing as how Kurtz was a close friend of Marlow's it is comparable to the experiences of Marlow. 13. In the novel, when Kurtz dies of his illness, his fianc " ee was mourning it for over a year. It does not specifically mention that she was scared or frightened, but any normal person would be. Kurtz's last words were "The horror!

The horror!" Marlow is clearly frightened by this occurrence, as illustrated by Marlow lying to Kurtz's fianc " ee by telling her that his last words were her name. 14. I did not necessarily like the last part of the novel. I think that Kurtz was a good person who was very intelligent and educated. I do not think that he was all things to all people, but he was certainly something to some people (namely, his fianc " ee).

The last part of the book involves Marlow meeting people from Kurtz's former life (as Kurtz is dead). They offer a version of Kurtz that is completely different than the Kurtz that Marlow knew. In the book, they try to make Marlow realize that Kurtz was all things to all people, and this is more or less how Marlow thought of Kurtz. This makes Marlow's experience seem less unique. I think that the end of the book was sort of negative, or sad and depressing because of how it de-glorifies Marlow's experience.

Theme, meaning and style 15. I think that the moral that Conrad is trying to convey is something along the line of "be careful of how much value you place on certain things, for other people may have placed the same value on the same thing", because Kurtz in fact seems to have been to Kurtz what he was to many other people (maybe even all of the people that he knew). 16. The narrator of the story is Charlie Marlow, who is a traveler who takes a job as a riverboat captain for the Company. It is told in the first-person perspective of Marlow.

Joseph Conrad chose this point of view because Charlie Marlow is Joseph Conrad. Many of Conrad's books are based on his experiences, and the main character or narrator can usually be seen as Conrad's alter ego. Quotations 17. "It concludes, however, with a handwritten postscript: 'Exterminate all the brutes!' " This sentence bothers me because it is a document that discusses how to civilize savages. I don't see how exterminating them civilizes them. If I were to ask questions of the author, they would be "What did it mean when the ending of the pamphlet concludes with 'Exterminate the brutes!' ?" and "Does this somehow reflect on some experience that you have had in your travels?" If Conrad were to answer these questions, I think he would respond.

"Kurtz was powerfully manipulative, and it seemed logical that such a man would carry a pamphlet that was powerful as well", and "I once knew a man who thought that the only way to civilize uncivilized savages was to murder them". 18. Two quotes that were meaningful to me were "The pilgrims open fire with rifles from below him, and the cloud of smoke they produce obscures his sight". and "It concludes, however, with a handwritten postscript: 'Exterminate all the brutes!' " The first quote is interesting to me because this takes place when they discovered the firewood and the natives come with bows and arrows and the pilgrims fire back, with rifles. It was the Russian trader that left the wood, and the natives really had no right to try and prevent the crew from taking it. The second quote is a broad generalization of Kurtz's opinions, and it is quite significant (see question 17). It is interesting to me because the quote is quite brutal.

19. My main criticism of the book is that the last part of the book de-glorifies Marlow's experiences greatly. However, I suppose that it is all in how one interprets the book. To me, I would have rather liked it if it turned out that Marlow was Kurtz's closest friend and everyone mourned not only for Kurtz, but for Marlow as well.

20. If I were to write a new ending for the book (the last few pages), I would have Marlow and Kurtz's fianc " ee switch places, in a sense, so that Kurtz's fianc " ee places less emphasis on how she loved him and have Marlow place more emphasis on how Kurtz was one of the best friends anyone could ever have. Additionally, Marlow would explain to Kurtz's fianc " ee that it is time to get over Kurtz and get on with her own life. Etcetera 21. I would recommend this book for people to read because of how it explores the human condition (Conrad was big on this theme) and how each character is unique and recognizable within the context. Conrad pays much attention to detail and it is evident in Heart of Darkness.

Conrad's skills as an author are also evident in the intricate wording in the novel. 22. This novel really is not controversial. It tells merely of Conrad's experiences during his travels and as a mechanic / sailor for ships in France. There is violence in it, but that does not make it controversial.

There is also a part where there is a group of native cannibals, which can be looked at as controversial, but would not be extreme enough to create a cause for banning. 23. I think it is fair for a book to be banned as long as it is a committee or a board that makes the decision. One person cannot decide that some book needs to be banned, because that is biased. If a book was banned, people could still read it, because all they need to do is go to a public library and read it.