Heart of Darkness

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The Difference Between Mr. Kurtz and Marlow

Mr. Kurtz is intended to be the picture of everything that is evil and twisted deep in the human soul that can be unleashed with the proper stimulus or lack of restraint, while Marlow is the soul who is saved by stepping back before it is too late. Obviously cutting off people’s heads and placing them on stakes is not what would be considered normal, or right by any means, but neither is destroying a culture.

Kurtz finds a part of himself that is quite disturbing and embraces it, but the fact that he was stimulated by the ideas and greed of colonialism can not be denied. The expedition creates scars in the jungle, belittles the native people because their culture is different, and is responsible for the death of many more than Kurtz has killed. For instance, the story of the ghost in the boiler that is used to take advantage of the native’s beliefs so that he will work for them, or perhaps it was just for the entertainment of the expedition. Then there is the dead body of the road that is considered a good thing.

Marlow may think that he is making the right decision by recognizing how out of control Kurtz is, but what he does not realize is colonialism is a huge part of why Kurtz is the way he is, and that he just chose colonialism. Both Kurtz and Marlow are wrong in their decisions, but the difference between the two is that Kurtz recognizes what he is doing, and Marlow does not. Kurtz’s last words, “The horror, the horror,” make it evident that he is disgusted with himself and what he has done, Marlow does not realize what a mistake he is making by being involved with the expedition and accepting colonialism.





Quote-
"They were common everyday words- the farmiliar, vague sounds exchanged on every waking day of life. But what of that? They had behind them, to my mind, the terrific suggestiveness of words heard in dreams, of phrases spoken in nightmares. Soul! If anyone has ever struggled with a soul, I am the man. And I wasn't arguing with a lunatic either," (Conrad 149).

In this quote, Marlow is speaking about Kurtz and what has driven him to his current state. This gives a clear indication that Kurtz is intended to be Marlow's alter ego. When Marlow says, "The farmiliar, vague sounds exchanged on every waking day of life...of phrases spoken in nightmares," it suggests that Kurts is a sane human being, who understands precisely what he is doing. The fact that the words he speaks seem as though they could be straight out of a nightmare, yet they are common, shows that this evil could be something that everyone could fall victim to; despite the fact that Conrad may be suggesting that this is something that only men could experience. The proper stimulus could make any common aspect of life turn into a "nightmare" because people possess an animal instinct that becomes harnessed by societal influences and self-restraint.

I was a little confused the first time I read Heart of Darkness, but once I understood it, it was very interesting. I liked how Kurtz is intended to be Marlow’s alter ego, and it is like Marlow is looking in a mirror the entire time. Conrad makes some great descriptions, and he is very concise, and to the point

Invisible Man

Throughout Invisible Man, it is clear that a major theme is white is right, and this philosophy appear to be the major problem for the narrator as well as other minor characters, but these characters were also facing problems within their own race. Just take a look at the narrator and how Dr. Bledsoe tricked him with the letters in an attempt to set the narrator up for failure and “keep him running”. Or, if you are not convinced, the brotherhood’s use of the narrator. The brotherhood, which was suppose to unite the African Americans of Harlem used the narrator and ended up creating an enemy out of him, as well as Brother Clifton. Then there is Ras, who uses violence to try to win the freedom that he feels the African Americans deserve, but he is making an enemy of the Brotherhood which is fighting for the same goal; just in a different manner.

Ellison not only highlighted the issue of black versus white, but the issue of black versus black. This issue is not just amongst the African American race; you could probably highlight the same issue within any race, but it comes down to a bigger issue. The entire issue of problems within a race stems from problems between people. Differing opinions create tensions and arguments because both sides feel that they are right and the other is wrong. A huge part of most problems is miscommunication between strong-willed people. Not that one person needs to give up on their argument, but someone has to be the bigger person and say that there is an issue that needs to be resolved. The moral of this novel comes down to the fact that we all just need to get along. (As cheesy as its sounds). The problem is not just black and white; it’s bigger than that.

“He believes in you as he believes in the beat of his heart. He believes in that great false wisdom taught slaves and pragmatists alike, that white is right. I can tell you his destiny. He’ll do your
bidding, and for that his blindness is his chief asset. He’s your man, friend. Your man and your destiny. Now the two of you descend the stairs into chaos and get the hell out of here,” (Ellison 95).

This quote is said by the black doctor at the Golden Day after Mr. Norton becomes ill over what he has seen in the old slave quarters. Mr. Norton could be considered an idealist because he wants to help young African Americans, and feels that the world can be changed; yet at the same time he believes that white is right, despite truly wanting to create change. Typically an idealist would probably not believe in this philosophy, but Mr. Norton is so naive about his own thoughts and actions that he does not realize that he is influencing the problems in some ways. When the doctor says, “His blindness is his chief asset, he means that Mr. Norton will not see the real horrors that the black race encounters. Then when the doctor says, “He’s your man and your destiny,” he is referring to the fact that the narrator is blind to the truth himself, and that he too will eventually be shocked when he recognizes what really goes on. The last line, “Descend the stairs into chaos,” refers to the fact that even though people are attacking each, there is prostitution, and other problems inside of the Golden Day, the people recognize the truth, while there are even more problems and people that do not recognize them outside the walls of the Golden Day.

Invisible Man is definitely a well-written novel that could be read multiple times, with new aspects, symbols, etc. being found each time. However, in my opinion, it was too long. By the time the narrator had reached New York and gotten involved with the Brotherhood, the theme of the novel was evident, but there continued to be more examples of the theme. By the end of the novel, it just seemed unnecessary that there were so many examples of how the Narrator was used, made into what others and not being what he wanted. The novel probably would have been just as powerful if some of it had cut out. I was honestly bored, and no longer cared what happened by the time the novel ended.

Player Piano

A major point that Vonnegut makes in Player Piano is that people sometimes forget what happiness is. Everyone thinks that technology will make things better, easier, and there will be more time to do things that are fun. Technology definitely has its perks, I could make a list of at least a hundred things I couldn’t live without, but sometimes it just makes things boring. Technology can make things so easy that it doesn’t seem like any work was done. For instance, when I am finished typing this, I am going to press publish and I’ll be done with this assignment and have saved a tree, but it doesn’t feel like as much of an accomplishment because it is so easy to just click a few buttons.

Maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but look at Bud; he created a machine that does his job better than he can and he no longer has a job. He no longer has a purpose, and there are plenty of real people who are like this. For instance, the ATM has made it unnecessary to have as many bank tellers, and the copy machine has eliminated the job of the scrivener. A big part of life is having a place where one fits in and a purpose, Vonnegut demonstrates this through the examples of technology, and Paul’s struggle to choose a side of the river. Paul relies on technology for so many things that he could not make it on the other side of the river, but he does not want to be run by the machines.

Technology is obviously necessary in today’s world, but where should the line be drawn? Somehow, it needs to be determined how much technology is a good thing, and at what point everyone will literally become a heap of metal unable to do anything for themselves.

This is really an entire passage, but my favorite part is this,
‘“ Well, I’ll be getting back to work. Long as this here is going to be your farm, you might’s well fix the pump. Needs a new packing.’
‘Afraid I don’t know how,’ said Paul.
‘Maybe,’ said Mr. Haycox walking away, ‘Maybe if you had gone to college another ten or twenty years, somebody would have gotten around to showing you how, Doctor,”’ (135).
I love Mr. Haycox! It takes some guts to disrespect your future landlord and boss like that. I also like how he refers to the farm as his before this conversation. I’m not trying to knock education in any way, but Mr. Haycox is right, there are some things that you just can not learn in school no matter how many years you attend. Paul is obviously very bright and works very hard to be able to earn his doctorate, but it is not going to help him fix the pump or do a lot of other things, and this society bases everything off how smart you are when it comes to tests. This entire scene is scary in a way because are society is just like this in so many ways; I mean for years everyone has been preaching to us that you need to get good grades and do well on your SAT’s, or your not going to go college, and you’ll be a failure at life. Just a little bit of an overstatement. School is important, but there are some intangibles that you will never learn there. Most importantly, just because you don’t become a doctor, you are not an idiot, and the world as you know it will not come crumbling down.

When I first started reading Player Piano, I didn’t like it because it was another utopia/ dystopia novel. It just seems that the majority of the novels with that theme are so similar that you could interchange the characters from one story to the other, and that, for the most part, the plots are borrowed from one author to another. Vonnegut’s use of black humor made his novel, which otherwise falls into this category, unique, and I wouldn’t mind reading another one of his novels just to experience more of it.