The Horror The Transformation of Kurtz in Heart of...

Kurtz and the Horror Throughout the first two parts of Joseph Conrads book, Heart of Darkness, the character Kurtz is built up to be this amazing and remarkable man. In the third book, however, we learn the truth about who Kurtz really is. Kurtz cries out in a whisper, The horror! The horror!(p. 86), and in only two words he manages to sum up the realization of all the horrors of his life during his time in the Congo. In the first parts of the book most of the characters Marlow meets tell him all good things about Kurtz. When Marlow inquires about who Kurtz is he is told by the chief account of the company that Kurtz is, a first class agent...he is a very remarkable person. (p. 33). Another person tells Marlow that Kurtz†¦show more content†¦Kurtzs behavior in Africa. The Russian tells Marlow how he has nursed Kurtz back to health. Kurtz, however, has grown overcome with an obsession for ivory. The Russian tells us, He [Kurtz] declared he would shoot me unless I gave him the ivory ...because he could do so, and had a fancy for it, there was nothing on earth to prevent him from killing who he jolly well pleased. (p.72) Kurtz realizes that he has the power to kill who he wants to and take what he wants to and will do so since there is no one to overlook him and tell him not to. We learn that Kurtz has resorted to brutal raids of the country in search of ivory because of his hunge r for it. Kurtz even planned an attack on Marlows steamer so that Marlow and his crew would think he was dead. He did this so he would be able to carry out his plans for obtaining more ivory. Kurtz has become corrupt and his obsession with ivory seems to have overcome his morality. He has gained the loyalty of the natives, and has convinced them to be his followers by scaring them into it. He has no mercy for anyone. He puts the savages heads on a stake if they rebel against him. When Marlow arrives at the camp and sees these severed heads on sticks he says, ...that was only a savage sight, while I seemed at one bound to have been transported into some lightless region of subtle horrors, where pure, uncomplicated savagery was a positive relief, beingShow MoreRelated Transformation in Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now Essay1685 Words   |  7 PagesTransformation in Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since Francis Ford Coppola’s   Apocalypse Now was based on Joseph Conrads novel, Heart of Darkness, it is possible to draw many parallels between the two works. Both can be interpreted as metaphors for a journey through the inner self, and each has its own particular message to convey. 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