Marlow

Throughout the middle of Heart of Darkness, I can already tell that Marlow is quite different from the other crew members on the expedition. Embarking on their journey through the Congo, Marlow views a man shooting a gun into the quiet, and gloomy rich forest; insisting that the men should go about the unknown territory with perspectives of peace and caution, yet he is soon overwhelmed with disgust by the hasty, and rude actions that he is surrounded by. Finally after pages and pages of confusion, I can finally understand that Marlow may have some imperialistic views that I might not agree with, he has a completely different aspect towards the expedition and the endeavors he is enduring, concerning both the new society and the natives.
Marlow soon becomes better acquainted with the eerie and enigmatic Kurtz, as he soon learns his disturbing truths and views during the expedition. Though rumors throughout the company claim that Kurtz is supposedly a friendly humanitarian towards the newly explored lands, Marlow soon learns that similar to the crewmen who are only interested in finding wealth and treasure, Kurtz too becomes almost obsessed in striving towards embodying a “divine god” toward the native “savages” who are in desperate need of being civilized, and cultured through European imperialism. It soon becomes clear that the main excuse for trying to suppress the natives is for the crewmen and Kurtz to say it is their duty and obligation as Europeans to shed light onto hopeless people without culture and life. Miscommunication and lack of knowledge of the native people cause Kurtz to assume that they have no way of life, and that only through their submission and the crew’s domination will they find higher civilization.
Through the trials and tribulations Marlow is suffering in his journey, I wonder if his perspectives on imperialism will continue to change effectively. Will he digress from the narrow-minded and hasty actions of the crew, or will he too become blinded by greed?
posted by Jennifer J.