Characters
Kurtz
Kurtz, like Marlow,originally came to the Congo with noble intentions.
He
thought that each ivory station should stand like a beacon light, offering
a
better way of life to the natives. Kurtz mother was half-English and
his
father was half-French. He was educated in England and speaks English.
The
culture and civilization of Europe have contributed to the making of
Kurtz;
he is an orator, writer, poet, musician, artist, politician, ivory
procurer,
and chief agent of the ivory company's Inner Station at Stanley Falls.
In
short, he is a "universal genius"; however, he also described as a
"hollow
man," a man without basic integrity or any sense of social responsibility.
At the end of his descent into the lowest pit of degradation, Kurtz
is also
a thief, murderer, raider, persecutor, and to climax all his other
shady
practices, he allows himself to be worshipped as a god. Marlow does
not see
Kurtz, however, until Kurtz is so emaciated by disease that he looks
more
like a ruined piece of a man than a whole human being.There is no trace
of
Kurtz' former good looks nor his former good health. Marlow remarks
that
Kurtz' head is as bald as an ivory ball and that he resembles "an animated
image of death carved out of old ivory."
Kurtz wins control of men through fear and adoration. His power over
the
natives almost destroys Marlow and the party aboard the steamboat.
Kurtz is
the lusty, violent devil whom Marlow describes at the beginning. He
is
contrasted with the manager, who is weak and flabby- the weak and flabby
devil also described by Marlow. Kurtz is a victim of the manager's
murderous
cruelty; stronger men than Kurtz would have found virtuous behavior
difficult under the manager's criminal neglect. It is possible that
Kurtz
might never have revealed his evil nature if he had not been cornered
and
tortured by the manager.