Kurtz And Marlow As "Doubles" in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.

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Roumyana Mihailova 11/2

30th March 2004

Kurtz And Marlow As “Doubles”

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a fascinating novel about colonialism. Its two main characters – Charlie Marlow and Mr Kurtz - are colonialists encountering the wilderness of the Africa. Both of them are Europeans, and thus the reader expects them to embody the values asserted by civilization. However, while Marlow appears to be exemplary for a man with moral conscience, Mr Kurtz’s meanness is horrifying. The difference between the characters is provoking because they share a lot of characteristics: both are intelligent, good-speakers, independent and exceptional man that are ready to take risks in order to achieve their goals. As Conrad creates Mr Kurtz and Marlow as characters that are “doubles” and at the same time makes them significantly different in their morality, he demonstrates how a man with qualities but without restraints may turn into a brute.

In Heart of Darkness Marlow is a sailor who tells the story of his experiences in Africa, where he has met Mr Kurtz. The narrator in the novel is one of the men who listen to Marlow’s tale. Thus, the narrator makes a direct characteristic of Marlow. The first quality presented to the reader is Marlow’s uniqueness: “The worst that could be said of him was that he did not represent his class” (Conrad p.7).  The character is distinguished from the other sailors at the very beginning of the novel. As the narrative proceeds, the narrator adds up to this image: “Marlow was not typical (…)” (Conrad p.8).  Similar to the first impression the reader gets of Marlow is the first characteristic Marlow hears about Kurtz: “He is a very remarkable person” (Conrad p.27).  Further in the novel, Marlow will conclude: “ Whatever he was, he was not common” (Conrad p.72). Both Mr Kurtz and Marlow are presented as exceptional men.

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An element of this notion is their ability to talk exceptionally well. According to the narrator, Marlow knows how to tell a story, so that to intrigue the audience. Marlow is an experienced storyteller: “ ‘I don’t want to bother you much with what happened to me personally,’ he began, showing in his remark the weakness of many tellers of tales who seen so often unaware of what their audience would best like to hear” (Conrad p.10).  When he talks, the others are silent: “It was accepted in silence” (Conrad p.8). That not only proves that Marlow keeps his listeners’ ...

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