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Kurtz is a very greedy ivory colonizer who is representative of the europeans in the fact that all he cares about is money and will do whatever it takes to obtain it. Kurtz is a classic manipulator and Conrad stresses the self-contradictory aspect as he gains a bond with some of the natives in an attempt to better his colonization effort.
Kurtz can be representative of European's attitudes and Europe's colonizing efforts in that he embodies European imperialism. European countries claim to want to help educate the local natives; however, their real goal is to make as much profit as possible. Kurtz reflects European goals in trying to be profitable in that he is extremely greed. He already brings in the most ivory, but that isn't enough for him. A good example of his greed is when the Russian says, "he wanted to shoot me, too, one day... I had a small lot of ivory the chief of that village near my house gave me... He declared he would shoot me unless I gave him the ivory," (36). Kurtz didn't value the Russian's life. He valued the ivory. The self-contradictory aspects of Western civilization that Conrad stresses is the reality of the roles played by the Europeans and natives. The Europeans that are claiming to be helping the natives are actually putting them in a worse situation than before their land became inhabited by Europeans. In addition, the actions of the Europeans depict them as savages, not the natives.
Kurtz could be regarded as representative of European attitudes and of European colonizing efforts because of his greed and lack of regard of the well-being of the natives. It is no secret that the entire European colonization effort is one that stems from solely greed, and Kurtz actions, such as when he threated to shoot the Russian over a simple stash of ivory, epitomize the entire colonization effort. They do not care for the natives and are even willing to hang faces by a stick. Conrad stresses the so called "civil" aspect of western civilization, but clearly the European's actions contradict said civil beliefs as evident by the chaos they have caused throughout the region
Kurtz is the leader of the whole ordeal so naturally he is representative of all of Europe. He is greedy and shows the most extreme type of westerner imperializing in Africa. When the Europeans came to imperialize Africa they seemed to not come to harm the natives which obviously turns out to not be true. This also represents how Kurtz's behavior and the fact that he seems to not bring harm with his amazing voice and ability to win people over when in reality all he cares about is himself. So Marlow and Kurtz's other followers behave similar to the natives because this new being is presenting themselves to be harmless when in reality they will only use them. However as time goes on the natives and Kurtz's followers start to figure out what they thought was true was actually false.
Kurtz represents the Europeans attitudes and their efforts to colonize in Africa by his overall power and attitude towards the "Savages". He shows this when he uses his power to obtain ivory by making acquaintances with the local tribe and seizes the title as the most profitable ivory trader. He is also representative in the way he treats them as the congo's people are treated like less than dogs from all white people except Marlow, when in reality the women keep thinking that Europe is brining education and civilization to a people who would be better off without it. Conrad stresses this friendship with the brutes as the self-contradictory aspect because it is shown by Marlow's feeding of a near dead slave that the whites in Africa care more about the money than the pain and suffering of an entire population.
Kurtz may be regarded as representative of Europeans because he is greedy. The whole European "invasion" in Africa was driven by people's will to make a lot of money by obtaining and selling the ivory using their advantage over Africans. Self-contradictory aspect was Kurtz's "co-operation" with natives, which was not common for Europeans. In fact, he managed to reach the same goals as other European conquerors, but in a completely different way.
Kurtz is away from all mankind and civilization. He lives in the middle of the Congo Jungle in his hut where only he exists in his own world. He has taken solitude by himself and with his native african friends. When Kurtz finally meets Marlow he is caught off guard and goes "mad" as said in the book. He is obsessed with ivory. He lves for it is what substancially causes his death along with other health problems. Kurtz has come from western civilization, leaving every aspect of his life behind him execpt greed. He displays the European attitudes of colonizing for money and nothing more. The civilized world is going into the jungle and tries to turn "savages" as they call them into western civilized people, but as we know that is not the case.
Kurtz may be regarded as a representative of European attitudes and of European colonizing efforts in a few ways. For one, one of the reasons or intentions of the Europeans while colonizing Africa was to civilize the natives. Kurtz wrote a report in which he explained his big plans for the natives and Africa and he said that a lot of good could be done. However, like the Europeans, Kurtz main goal ended up becoming ivory, riches and power. Really the all the Europeans wanted was to make a lot of money off of the ivory trade. Conrad stresses the self-contradictory aspect of how the Europeans claimed they wanted to help the natives and civilize them but they ended up brutalizing and enslaving them.
Kurtz was a man driven by greed, he admitted he had no morals, and his imperialistic ideas led him to his deterioration. “All Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz” means that this is what caused Kurtz’s to act out the way he did and in the end for his soul to go mad. Being alone in the wilderness suggests made him very susceptible to this madness. I believe something is either wrong with the way Europe is conditioning and educating and raising its citizens. Kurtz had a reputation that was glorified, but the ideas people had of him weren’t the exact truth. This was the same with the idea of colonizing Africa. They were supposed to be civilizing the savage natives, but in reality they were only there for the ivory.
Kurtz was created through European colonization idea in that there was nothing really special about him that created this idolized idea of him throughout the story, all he did was make the most money and be the most successful out of everyone and take what he wanted when he wanted, he was merely a means to and end. The self-contradictory aspects of this book are mostly stressed through the self-destructive tendencies of the people in society, basically taking what they will with little regard to other either social impacts or even environmental.
The way Kurtz is described throughout the entire novel: first class, remarkable, in charge of the inner trading post, sends in all ivory, will be a very important “somebody,” best agent, exceptional man, greatest importance to the company, painted dark and sinister painting, neither feared the devil nor God, universal genius, lone white man, ready to face anything, educated in England, wrote the International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs, not anymore than a voice, bald ivory head, superior, original person, glamour of youth, colored rags, loneliness, dispatched youth, modest, clear flame, could easily take over a whole colony, hollow at the core, very sick, weak, planned the attack on the boat, phenomenon, unsteady, intelligent, no heart, no faith, no fear. All of these things are direct quotes gathered from the novella.
Kurtz represents European imperialism in Africa. He worships wealth and he is greedy, the only thing he cares about is money. He uses native Africans to his own advantage and instead of trying to eliminate savagery and civilizing Africa, he only tries to find as much ivory as he can and make as much money as he can. He shows how all the Europeans do the same thing and civilizing Africa is not their goal.
Kurtz is representative of European attitudes, because much of Europe had the attitude of gaining territory and natural resources. Self contradictory ideas of Western civilization are shown in how light and dark are represented in the book. Normally light is a positive thing and leads in the right direction while dark is scary and leads to only bad things. In this story, the woman remaining in the dark keeps her safe from knowing what dangers and evilness are really occurring in Africa, while the light shows her what horrible things Kurtz and his men have done to the natives.
Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz, because had it not been for the societal structure and obligations bestowed upon him there would have been no cathartic release of his inner nature. Kurtz actions, which is what drove him to madness, were due to the expectations society placed on him. Kurtz was a ruthless machine in the using of the continent to make many, including himself wealthy. Kurtz like the Nazis ran a very efficient machine but for the wrong reasons. the irony built into all of this is that the actions which are the most efficient and produce the best results will ruin the man the most.
Kurtz could be regarded as a representative of European attitudes and of European colonizing efforts because Kurtz is Conrad's way of stereotyping imperialism and Europeans. Kurtz only cares about the company and trying to make a profit at the expense of anyone who gets in his way. Imperialism is exactly that. Its main goal is to expand ones power or a nations power. Self-contradictory aspects of Western civilization that Conrad stresses in Heart of Darkness include: the fact that the Europeans who are thought to be bring "light" or civility to the blacks are really only bringing pain and destruction or "darkness'.