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Inherent inside every human soul is a savage evil side that remains repressed by society. Often this evil side breaks out during times of isolation from our culture, and whenever one culture confronts another. Joseph Conradstale, The Heart of Darkness, is a story about Mans journey into his self, and the discoveries to be made there. It is also about Man confronting his fears of failure, insanity, death, and cultural contamination. The protagonist, Marlow, ison a mission to find Kurtz, and is also trying to find himself. Marlow, like Kurtz, has good intentions upon entering the Congo.
Conradtries to show us that Marlow is what Kurtz had been, and Kurtz is what Marlow could become. Every human has a little of Marlow and Kurtz in them. Marlow says about himself, I was getting savage, meaning that he was becoming more like Kurtz. Along the trip into the wilderness, they discover their true selves through contact with savage natives.
As Marlow ventures further up the Congo, he feels like he is traveling back through time. He sees the unsettled wilderness and can feel the darkness oils solitude. Marlow comes across simpler cannibalistic cultures along the banks. The deeper into the jungle he goes, the more regressive the inhabitants seem. Kurtz has lived in the Congo, and is separated from his own culture for quite some time.
He had once been considered an honorable man, but the jungle changes him greatly. Here, secluded from the rest of his own society, he discovers his evil side and becomes corrupted by his power and solitude. Marlow tells us about the ivory that Kurtz keeps as his own, and that he has no restraint, and item swayed by the wind. Marlow mentions the human heads displayed on posts that showed that Mr. Kurtz lacked restraint in the gratification of his various lusts. Conrad also tells us his nerves went wrong, and caused him to preside ascertain midnight dances ending with unspeakable rights, (pg. 83), meaning that Kurtz goes insane and allows himself to be worshipped as a god.
It appears that while Kurtz has been isolated from his culture, he has become corrupted by this violent native culture, and allows his evil side to control him. Marlow realizes that only very near the time of death, does a person grasp the big picture. He describes Kurtz's last moments as though a veil had been rent. Kurtz's last supreme moment of complete knowledge, shows him how horrible the human soul really can be. Marlow can only speculate as to what Kurtz sees that causes him to exclaim The horror! The horror, but later adds that since I peeped over the edge myself, I understand better the meaning of his stare.
It was wide enough to embrace the whole universe, piercing enough to penetrate all the hearts that beat in the darkness he had summed up, he had judged. Marlow guesses that Kurtz suddenly knows everything and discovers how horrible the duplicity often can be. Whenever fundamentally different cultures meet, there is often a fear of contamination and loss of self that leads us to discover more about our true selves, often causing perceived madness by those who have yet to discover. Marlowlearns through Kurtz's death; he learns that inside every human is this horrible, evil side.
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Research essay sample on Inside Every Human Evil Side
