As I was reading Part III, I realized how much this book reminded me of The Great Gatsby! When characters spoke of Kurtz and of Gatsby, they all had different stories and ideas about the men. Both Kurtz and Gatsby were extremely rich from forming corrupt businesses. They both had people who looked up to them and were intriqued and inspired by then, like The Russian with Kurtz. But no one truly knew Kurtz or Gatsby. People didn't really know Kurtz because the man never had a real conversation with anyone; it was always only he who was talking. No one truly knew Gatsby because he lived a secret life of business. They also both died in their books and had one woman who loved them and was very upset by his death.
The main character of The Great Gatsby was intrigued by Gatsby and wanted to know so much more about him, and once he did, was not happy. The same went for Marlow and Kurtz. Except Marlow traveled much further to work with Kurtz.
The voice of Kurtz was brought up many times by Marlow throughout the book: how Marlow thought his voice was going to sound like, how he could hear Kurtz's voice. It is interesting that it was because of the ending. The ending of the book depended upon what Kurtz's voice was saying before he died, rather than what he was saying. The ending also proved to the reader that Marlow was not pulled into the darkness. He still cared for others and their feelings, even if he did not know them well. It was very good of him to tell the native woman Kurtz spoke her time last. It is a relief to the reader that Kurtz is truly nothing like the other men in the Congo, and still is a nice man after all of his ominous journey.
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I defiantly didn't see that. But now that you mention it, there were defiantly similarities between the two books.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that Nick didn't like what he found out about Gatsby. I fell like Nick started to pity Gatsby the more he found out about him.
Marlow was totally fascinated by Kurtz the same way Nick was with Gatsby. But it was almost the opposite the more Marlow got to know Kurtz.
You make a good point about the similarities between the two books. Nick and Marlow both admired men who were supposed to be great and whose life was a mystery.
ReplyDeleteThere was one part of the book that made me think of The Great Gatsby. It was during Kurtz's death, I found it interesting how Marlow was the only one who did not go to his funeral even though he went through the trouble of looking for him. In Gatsby, the opposite happens, during his funeral nobody comes to it except for Nick.
This is a great observation and comparison. Now that you mentioned this there are definitely similarities between Kurtz and Gatsby. It was interesting to meet the character Kurtz- and see what all the talk of him was about. Marlow did make a kind insensitive decision not to tell Kurtz's intended the truth. This would have hurt her and pulled her into a dark place. Marlow did turn out to be a nice guy, who appeared to have a protective nature, especially with women.
ReplyDeleteI like Julie didn’t see that either. that’s most likely because I didn’t like The Great Gatsby either lol. But Julie is so right nick definitely pitied him more and more throughout the book. On the other hand it was opposite for Marlow and Kurtz.
ReplyDeletewhen i was readsing, that was the last thing running in my mind, but now that you point it out i can dedfinitly see some similarities between Kurtz and Gatsby. both men were victims of circumstances which led them to the wrong path.
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