Heart of Darkness 1. How does Marlow change during and after his experiences in
the Congo? What evidence is there of these changes? In the novel Heart of
Darkness, written by Joseph Conrad, Marlow finds himself in a position where he
is faced to accept the fact that the man he has admired and looked up to is a
madman. He realizes that Kurtz's methods are not only unethical, but also
inhumane. Marlow comes to realize that Kurtz is evil, and that he himself is
also evil, thus Marlow’s disillusion makes his identification with Kurtz
horrifying. As Marlow travels up the river, he is constantly preoccupied with
Kurtz. Marlow says "I seemed to see Kurtz for the first time...the lone
white man turning his back suddenly on the headquarters, on relief, on thoughts
of home...towards his empty and desolate station"(32). From the beginning
of his trip, he is compared to Kurtz by all of the people that he comes into
contact with, and great deals of his thoughts are of Kurtz. He wonders how he
will measure up to the standards that the company set for him, what Kurtz’s
personality is like, and what Kurtz would think of him. The more obsessed he
becomes with Kurtz, the more he sets himself up for the horrible reality of what
his new idol was truly made of. Upon reaching Kurtz's station, Marlow’s
disillusion begins to set in. He is greeted by an English-speaking Russian whom
he takes for a man who on the surface is decent level-headed person, but after
short conversation it is apparent to Marlow that he is talking with a disturbed
individual, but that was not what bothered Marlow. Hearing of and seeing the
acts committed by Kurtz made Marlow uneasy, and even afraid. It was at this
point that Marlow begins his denial of any affinity he feels with Kurtz. He says
in regard to the Russian "I suppose that it had not occurred to him that
Mr. Kurtz was no idol of mine"(59). Marlow sees all of the atrocities
committed by Kurtz.