Heart Of Darkness Kurtz Character Analysis Essay

A mysterious and inexplicable aspect surrounding a character’s actuality, stimulates ideas about that character before the truth is disclosed through the conclusion. In Heart of Darkness, Kurtz is the character that holds this spotlight of confusion. Joseph Conrad creates a character that is not clearly introduced until halfway through the book. Through his use of vague complexity, irrational characterization, and character isolation, Conrad is able to develop an enclosed madness surrounding the character of Kurtz in order to reinforce the theme regarding the devastating effects of untied power. Kurtz’s character in Heart of Darkness embodies a theme of confusion and complexity because of the way Joseph Conrad chooses to disclose information about his character. The first time Kurtz is introduced to the audience he is revealed as the company 's top ivory trader. At …show more content…
We get the characterization of Kurtz through other characters in the story. Marlow describes Kurtz at one point it time throughout the story as “a gifted creature”. This is quite odd considering he categorized him as a creature instead of a gifted human. The Harlequin chooses to describe Kurtz as a man you do not talk to but merely listen to. This motion about Kurtz shows how dominant of a force he is when you can only listen to him. The power has overtaken his life so much to where he only wants to control what others think. When the manager and his uncle are discussing Kurtz they call him a “pestilential fellow.” Again here is another characterization of Kurtz not as a human but as a pest. The fact that he is thought of as a pest shows how the madness has caused him to run uncontrollably throughout the jungle taking ivory from the natives. Kurtz is described through very odd terms but they are true to his actions. The power he has gained has turned him into this animal in which people refer to him