In four pages this paper presents a character analysis of Kurtz in a consideration of thematic, symbolic, and metaphorical elements. Two sources are cited in the bibliography.
Name of Research Paper File: D0_MBkurtz.rtf
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to speak with a group of the passengers who are struck by his odd perspective. He tells them that in all his travels, he reckons London and most of Europe
to be the darkest places on the face of the Earth. In order to expound upon his statements, he begins to tell of his trip to Africa, and in particular
of a most extraordinary man named, Kurtz. It can be said, then, that the character of Kurtz personifies the message that Conrad is making about a Heart of Darkness. Given
the above thesis, the student will wish to begin examining the various ways in which Conrad portrays Kurtzs personal philosophies, why these philosophies changed from his entry into Africa, why
the others follow him and in the end, how Marlowe, himself, is changed as a result of having known him. These points should be offered in the order in which
they are presented for a cohesive presentation. In fact, the character of Kurtz is an interesting one, in that Kurtz is quite literally a dichotomy of dark and light,
good and evil. He is shown to be lost to the wild ways of the jungle, and yet he is redeemed in some ways by his kindness to these people
and his lack of desire for monetary gain at their expense. What the student may wish to expound upon at this point is that man is a curious blend and
mixture of good and evil, that, ostensibly, one could not exist without the other. An interesting philosophy exists in the West which seeks to extricate one from the other, but
most other philosophies around the world have accepted the inherent bad side of mankind as being a necessary element to his survival. The fate of Kurtz illustrates his philosophies as