Part III Regarding JOURNEY METAPHOR/THEME

[sdebbas]

Marlow's encounter with Kurtz may be regarded as the culminating point of Marlow's understanding of the nature of man because throughout this journey Marlow has experienced many different sides to different things all around him, including Kurtz himself. I do not think a person could learn or have an opinion about something unless they have seen both sides of it. This story is very concerned with both the evil of man in his essential nature and the disease of modern, social man to show both aspects of this idea.

[Ethan Hanson]

Marlow's journey throughout the novel is to meet Kurtz his "idol", he is excited to meet Kurtz because of the many stories he has heard about Kurtz. Kurtz is viewed as a godlike,influential,and a idolized figure with the Africans. However, when Marlow encounters Kurtz, he realizes that Kurtz was driven by power and money, turning him into an evil man or a heart filled with darkness. Marlow realizes that men are driven by power and greed, and how Kurtz was getting ivory in a corrupt way. Conrad shows us that greed and power can lead to a mans downfall and ultimately cause him to become lost mentally, disregarding any type of social equality, leading to Kurtz to become the "Heart of darkness"

[MorganDuss]

Marlow's encounter with Kurtz may be regarded as the culminating point of his entire experience because for the entire story, Marlow has been waiting to finally meet Kurtz. As the story progressed, Kurtz became an idol to Marlow, and he grew more and more respect for him. When they finally meet face to face, Marlow felt his journey was finished. When Marlow sees Kurtz for the first time, he is very close to death. This could symbolize how the greed and lust that Kurtz attained in his life ultimately destroyed him in the end.

[Natashacaravia]

Marlow listens to the many diverse things and descriptions that others have to say about kurtz. he started to think himself that he was the best person around, since all that he has heard was positive things about him. but once marlow gets ahold of him he is filled with evil and greed leaving marlow to see who kurtz really is.

[annap]

Marlow's encounter with Kurtz is regarded as the culminating point of his understanding of the nature of man by the way he views Kurtz as an idol. Marlow sees him as the point and purpose of his journey through the Congo. Marlow believes that Kurtz is a true man by the way he speaks his mind and is open to his own thoughts. The meaning of the story is concerned with the evil of man to the extent of the colonists in Africa. The Europeans are evil in the way they treat the natives like savages. The story is quite concerned with the modern, social man by the way Kurtz was driven to his death and how Marlow became intensely ill from the want of wealth and adventure.

[Collin Stark]

Marlow's knowledge of Kurtz is assembled by the countless heaps of appraisal he is described by; it seems like everyone and their mother adores and idolizes Kurtz. These stories of Kurtz being almost super human is what builds Marlow's interpretation of what kind of man Kurtz is. The story deals heavily with the evilness of man whether it is the treatment of the natives or the corruption of Kurtz in the end of the story evil persists. Disease and illness also play a key role in the story as health is power as evident in the description of the manger who " got his role because he was never sick."

[rluehrs]

When Marlow first arrives at Kurtz's station, he thinks he sees a line of ornamented posts surrounding the main house. Upon closer inspection he realizes that the posts are topped by human heads. These heads provide the most direct evidence of Kurtz's "unsound" methods or, to some, his insanity. They also symbolize the savage and brutal nature that lies within each of us. Throughout the story Marlow idolizes Kurts, he believed he had the strength to change others and move them into a positive direction. He finally realizes that Kurtz is an absolute slob, he is a completely ignorant man, selfish, and only cares for himself and not others. Right there you can see that the drive to get money and power also can make you a selfish and cruel person.

[Sydney Davis]

Marlow's encounter with Kurtz may be regarded as the culminating point of Marlows understanding of the nature of man because Kurtz is man that is looked up to by many. Marlow was told not to talk to Kurtz but to listen to him, show how important of a man Kurtz is. Marlow becomes so fascinated with him that he begins to idolize him. When Kurtz dies Marlow is very sad and disappointed with the fact that he never got the opportunity to have a conversation with him. The meaning of the story being concerned with the evil of man is a main focus point of the novel. The fact that all Kurtz is interested in money and Ivory which shows he is a greedy person.

[spencercornman]

Throughout Marlow's journey to find Kurtz, he was filled with ideas of Kurtz being this amazing, perfect individual who successfully treated the natives well as well as receiving great economic prosperity. Well, Marlow found out at the end that the economic prosperity was very alive in Kurtz's head. Marlow discovers Kurtz to be the opposite of what everybody on the journey had made him out to be. He finds Kurtz to be a quintessential depiction of a European imperialist with the intentions of draining the African lands and people of their prosperous natural resources. Marlow is disappointed in the end of the story. The story digressed into a story of disease (which killed Kurtz and got Marlow sick) which heavily influenced the outcome of the story but at the same time, highlighted the truth of the life in Africa.

[elle]

Marlow has been told by many different figures in this story about how remarkable Kurtz is. As the story progressed, Marlow became more and more fascinated (even obsessed) with Kurtz and meeting him. Throughout his journey, Marlow saw terrible obscenities and became very aware of just what the Europeans were doing in the African congo. Alongside all of this, he is hearing all of these great things about Kurtz, giving some sort of hope that there is some sort of goodness in this land consumed by evil. That is why meeting and speaking with Kurtz was "the culminating point" of Marlow's experience in the Congo. He had heard different things from different people about Kurtz, but he finally had the chance to meet him for himself. The Heart of Darkness is meant to show us how selfishness and greed can drive people to become evil, to do horrible things. So, yes, I believe this story does give us a picture of what the nature of man is really like. The Europeans justify what they are doing to the African natives by thinking they are doing what they want, they are getting what they want: wealth and power.

[kazhir]

Marlow's encounter with Kurtz was the culminating point of his experience because he was introduced to the wildness and savage side of Kurtz that he had never heard of or seen before. He saw how much the Congo and being a part of The Company has changed Kurtz as a person. It is the "farthest point of navigation", metaphorically speaking, because throughout the story Marlow was excited to see and meet Kurtz, and when he finally did, he felt as he had completed his journey. The story shows how the evil of man can harm a society and ruin the harmless nature around it. The story shows how the people who seem to be more civilized at first can turn out to be the real savages. This story demonstrates the ability of man kind to become corrupt through the need for power and wealth.

[lrempalski]

Marlow's encounter with Kurtz is considered the culminating point of his experience because the entire journey leads up to this moment. After hearing many stories about Kurtz's greatness, Marlow has very high expectations for meeting him face to face. However, when Marlow finally meets Kurtz he is not all what Marlow expected because Kurtz has changed into a greedy, mad man. Due to exposure to the Heart of Darkness and his greed for ivory Kurtz has become evil. The author expresses through the story how greed can ultimately change people for the worse if they allow it to take over.

[mmurai]

Kurtz at the beginning was described as someone that everyone like and had no flaws. He was a man with a voice that people couldn't resist and was making the best out of imperialism in the inner station. As Marlow got close to the inner station and witnessed the environment and difficult situation he admired Kurtz even more for what he was able to accomplish. In the inner station there is a lack of civilization and technology once again making people act like savages. When Marlow meets Kurtz he admires him but then realizes that his isolation has caused him to go mad. Kurtz going mad is an example of how being away from civilization and being exposed to the evils of imperialism such as the severed heads can make someone go mad. It makes the modern social man seem weak because they complain about problems they face in society that are nothing compared to the problems that Kurtz had to face in the inner station.

[Benkashanchi]

Marlow’s encounter with Kurtz may be regarded as the culminating point of Marlow’s understanding of the nature of man because it gave Marlow the opportunity to observe the final moments of a man of such great power. Upon listening to his last words, “the horror!..the horror!”, Marlow learns that despite Kurtz dehumanizing of the natives throughout the story, he ultimately regrets what he has done and views it with great horror. The story shows that even the greatest and most remarkable men like Kurtz are unable to conquer the evil of greed. Also, The story shows that the modern man has a tendency to attempt to excessively influence their surroundings due to the belief that they are the superior beings.

[cboehm1]

I think this story is very much a story about the disease if modern, social man in history because if anything mankind is just as corrupt as it was when this story was written, however, the corruption takes on a different form than it did at this time, but at the end of the day the diseased corruption is still present.