Heart Of Darkness: Kurtz The Ideal Colonizer

A person will always change in a journey. People face new challenges and adventures changing their idea about the world. The clash of cultures will also make the person accept the other culture and understand furthermore their own culture. Interactions with the people from another culture, definitely change people the most. Marlow's journey to the Congo also represents a change in him. As the book progresses some changes become more evident. Since the moment he arrived at the first station, meeting Kurtz became his only desire. In the steamboat, the idea of meeting Kurtz pushed Marlow on through the river. After a native attack he changes drastically. According to Marlow: "No; I can't forget him, though I am not prepared to affirm the fellow was exactly worth the life we lost in getting to him" (Conrad, 93). Marlow had built a relationship with this black person. Sadness overcomes him and he starts to doubt the importance of Kurtz over a dead person. Reaching Kurtz was Marlow's only reason for living, but now he has changed and starts to question his desire to reach him.

Through this journey in boat, Marlow discovers himself. Maybe reaching Kurtz would make him a more skilled colonizer. This Kurtz represented the idol that Marlow wanted to be. He wanted to become Kurtz and be able to exploit the natives, the land, and the ivory as well as he did. But Marlow changes in the boat, he transforms into a person that even suggests that Kurtz died. When a pilgrim says that the black man is dead Marlow responds: " 'No doubt about it,' said I, tugging like mad at the shoelaces. 'And, by the way, I suppose Mr. Kurtz is dead as well by this time' " (Conrad, 86). Marlow had to experience having a relationship with a native to be able to forget the idea of becoming Kurtz. The native died at his foot and with him so did Kurtz. Following this event, Marlow had less desire to become a native exploiter and to enslave them for the resources of their land. Conrad creates ambiguity about Kurtz. He could be a person or just an idea of the ideal colonizer who abuses the natives. By showing that Marlow suggests his death, the desire to become this colonizer has died inside him.