Character Analysis of Kurtz in Heart of Darkness, a Novel by Joseph Conrad

Throughout Conrad's novella, "Heart of Darkness", Marlow repeats his assertion of Kurtz being an intriguing and enigmatic man. He attributes Kurtz's perceived madness to the "darkness and primitive nature" of the Congo. However, is madness truly something that can be induced by the environment around you? It is reasonable to believe that the source of Kurtz's madness is inherent nature rather than the world around us. However, evidence can be found within the novella that supports both sides of the argument. The "unspeakable" rites, the European mentality, and the Outer Station are all examples that create an ambiguous answer. Yet, it can still be inferred that Conrad's message to the reader is that the "seeds" of madness such as ambition, power, and greed can be planted in anyone which is the source of their madness when placed in an environment that carries no consequences.

It is clear that the Congo can be associated with many qualities. One of the most significant qualities of the region is the quality of disorder and chaos. It is what Marlow first realizes within the Congo upon seeing the French warship shelling the empty coastline on the threat of "a camp of natives" and the Outer Station's "decaying machinery" (Conrad 11,12). Here, we see an environment that possesses none of the traits that make up European civilization. The unfamiliar landscape causes the Europeans to become disoriented and paranoid to the point where they see anything as a possible threat and fail to maintain order. As the chief accountant puts it himself, "…one comes to hate those savages---hate them to the death."(Conrad 16) which summarizes and explains the lack of disorder in the area. His statement represents the European perception of the natives, which is that they are savages and must bear the "burden" to civilize them. The fact that the Europeans see the natives as inferior allow them to develop a "racial superiority" over them which develops into a source of Kurtz's madness. Kurtz is able to take on the identity of a "deity" among the natives because of their lack of society that prevents such a thing from happening. Not only does the "savagery" of the Congo prevent Kurtz from facing the consequences, but also Kurtz's own civilized society has emphasized the idea of "white superiority" to the point where it is natural to assume a role of "God" over the natives.

The idea of the "white man's burden" where Europeans attempt to justify their colonization of the Congo is an idea that has to rely on the claim that the Congo is a place of chaos and primitivity. It is perceived by others to be a place that corrupts even the most virtuous of men. The captain Fresleven was considered to be "the gentlest, quietest creature that ever walked on two legs." (Conrad 6), yet met his demise when he "felt the need at last of asserting his self-respect in some way." (6). Thus, it is established that there is something about the Congo that can persuade anyone to desire power. It could be the manipulation of the natives in order to acquire cheap and easy labor, which is evident by Marlow's encounter with the fireman. As a native who is devoted to his task because of the "evil spirit inside the boiler" (Conrad 33), he is a product of European colonization and an example of how simple it is to control a native by imposing their culture on a task. Therefore, it is clear why Kurtz's sense of morality was devoured by the Congo when he was sent to the area. He was unable to resist the opportunity to seize power over the natives and knew that they would not question his sudden "control" over the station. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the desire to abandon ethnics is only further provoked when one is aware that they are in a place where no repercussions can take place against him.

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Another thing to consider regarding the Congo's effect on a person is the area's association with "savagery" and the influence that it has on people like Kurtz. This association is evident by the helmsman's response to Marlow's question of what he would do to the shrieking natives if he caught them. His response of "Eat 'im!" (Conrad 36) shows the contrast between civilization and barbarity in which Marlow expresses that he would "no doubt have been properly horrified..." (36) by the helmsman's response. The response is what tells Marlow that the natives are not people to negotiate with and that he is in a place where ethics is almost non- existent. Thus, it is no surprise that a man who is seen as a deity among the natives would be unhesitant to use force against others to preserve his power. Kurtz's powerful role within the Congo has made him able to commit acts of violence such as beheading, in which it is justified by the heads being the "heads of rebels" (Conrad 53). The reason for why Kurtz's madness has driven him to the point of using violence to get a point across is due to his mindset of having to intimidate and use force in order to establish himself as a "God" among the natives. Therefore, the savagery within the Congo can be considered to be a major factor in explaining how Kurtz's madness came to be. His obsession with power and influence has made him realize that the only way to secure his position among the "savages" is to use violence. The use of "civilized" methods such as negotiation and law are worthless to Kurtz, who has abandoned these in favor of a more primitive and depraved method instead.

While it is clear that Kurtz has embraced his primal side in the Congo, there is still the matter of addressing why he chooses to remain in the Congo. Kurtz is a man who is in conflict with himself. When Marlow attempts to have Kurtz return back to Europe, " ...he would say yes, and then he would remain; go off on another ivory hunt; disappear for weeks; forget himself amongst these people - forget himself -…."(Conrad 62) . Here we see what truly makes Kurtz an enigma to others, he is divided between his upbringing in "civilized" Europe and his position in the "savage" Congo. The man's fall into insanity is a result of his struggle to connect with the "The original Kurtz" who had been "educated partly in England" (Conrad 55) with his current self. The original Kurtz came to Congo with hopes of humanizing, improving, and instructing the lives of the natives, but he soon comes to embrace his depraved side that tells him to ""Exterminate all the brutes!". Eventually, Kurtz combines these two "sides" to make himself believe that his rule of the natives is truly for the greater good and he enlists the help of the harlequin to spread the word of his benevolence. Therefore, the most significant factor in how Kurtz's madness developed is due to his inability to see the consequences of his actions. By looking towards the European's belief of "racial superiority", Kurtz has made himself a "power- hungry tyrant" who believes that the land that he rules over lacks any form of punishment for his actions. The "unspeakable rites" that he witnessed when he first entered the Congo were the justification that he needed to "defend" his belief that the natives were "savages" and that he was the only one who could "tame" and civilize them. Thus, Kurtz's "obligation" to rule over the natives combined with his sense of "civilization" as a European result in the madness that defines Kurtz. He is torn between two identities, one as a deity among "savages" and one as a upstanding member of society.

Madness is a quality that cannot spontaneously appear in a person. It can be provoked by the environment that surrounds you, but the seeds of the madness must be planted beforehand. Kurtz's perspective of the Congo was influenced by the propaganda of European imperialism and "racial superiority" which first planted the "seeds" that would eventually make him insane. His beliefs led to him to believe that it was imperative for him to enforce his rule over the natives in order to "civilize" them. However, Kurtz's madness is something that would not have developed if it were not for the environment that he was tasked to compose a report for. The disorder and "savagery" within the Congo and the "unspeakable rites" that he witnessed caused him to realize that the only reasonable approach to rule over the Congo is to "Exterminate the brutes!". Therefore, Kurtz's madness is the product of the corruption of European imperialism, which drove him insane when the man entered the "heart of darkness" that is the Congo.

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