Kurtz's character and his sanity in "Heart of Darkness" deepest regions of the human heart. In the novel, the dark world of Africa has been transformed by the Company, an organization that exports ivory and civilizes the natives, into a den of exploitation and greed, a place where madness thrives in the heart of the Congo. Kurtz, an agent of the Company, represents sanity in this crazy world. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The madness of the other characters, namely the Company's agents and pilgrims, is revealed in a series of early incidents that only underline, by contrast, Kurtz's capacity for reasoning. A French warship is seen firing into the African bush, seemingly at nothing: "Pop, he would have fired one of the six-inch guns... and nothing happened. Nothing could have happened. There was a touch of madness as we proceed, a sense of lugubrious buffoonery at the sight." The “pop” produced by the firearms is the symbol of a crazy, incomprehensible and, ultimately, useless attempt to subjugate the continent. Likewise, the Company's men are busy setting off a series of explosions on a cliff for no apparent reason: "The cliff wasn't in the way or anything; but this objectless explosion was all the work in progress." Even more absurd, one night a pilgrim tries to put out a fire by carrying water in a bucket with a large hole. The sheer folly of these actions only demonstrates the Company's lack of progress in the Congo, as well as the Company's inability to influence the country. These moments of madness contrast sharply with Kurtz's sanity: his determination in purpose and his ability to achieve his goals. the goals are amazing. As described by the accountant, Kurtz "is a truly extraordinary person... He sends as much ivory as all the others put together." With his rational will and skilled reasoning skills, Kurtz achieves a position of great power and influence over the natives - not unlike that of God - and uses this deified role to push the natives into raiding villages and plundering the land in search of ivory. Although these are barbaric and morally reprehensible acts, they nevertheless demonstrate Kurtz's enormous capacity for practical action to achieve concrete goals. This confirms Kurtz's sanity: he does what he does with reason and with purpose. Kurtz further demonstrates his sanity in accepting reality, something that other agents and pilgrims stupidly and ridiculously ignore. Only Kurtz sees the Company for what it is: a cold commercial enterprise bent on raping Africa of its ivory riches while pretending to be a force of civilization and religion among its inhabitants. Hypocrisy, the denial of reality, is one of the distinctive traits of the Company's workers: the agents claim to be concerned about improving the lives of the indigenous people, but just glimpsing the effects of this "improvement" is enough to destroy the credibility of their so-called concerns : "They were dying slowly - it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly anymore - nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation, lying confused in the greenish darkness." Likewise, the pilgrims claim that their aim is to instill religion and morality in the indigenous people, but at the same time they carry sticks with which they beat the African workers. It seems the only God they worship is wealth, and the only religion.

Topic > Kurtz's character and his sanity in "Heart of Darkness" deepest regions of the human heart. In the novel, the dark world of Africa has been transformed by the Company, an organization that exports ivory and civilizes the natives, into a den of exploitation and greed, a place where madness thrives in the heart of the Congo. Kurtz, an agent of the Company, represents sanity in this crazy world. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The madness of the other characters, namely the Company's agents and pilgrims, is revealed in a series of early incidents that only underline, by contrast, Kurtz's capacity for reasoning. A French warship is seen firing into the African bush, seemingly at nothing: "Pop, he would have fired one of the six-inch guns... and nothing happened. Nothing could have happened. There was a touch of madness as we proceed, a sense of lugubrious buffoonery at the sight." The “pop” produced by the firearms is the symbol of a crazy, incomprehensible and, ultimately, useless attempt to subjugate the continent. Likewise, the Company's men are busy setting off a series of explosions on a cliff for no apparent reason: "The cliff wasn't in the way or anything; but this objectless explosion was all the work in progress." Even more absurd, one night a pilgrim tries to put out a fire by carrying water in a bucket with a large hole. The sheer folly of these actions only demonstrates the Company's lack of progress in the Congo, as well as the Company's inability to influence the country. These moments of madness contrast sharply with Kurtz's sanity: his determination in purpose and his ability to achieve his goals. the goals are amazing. As described by the accountant, Kurtz "is a truly extraordinary person... He sends as much ivory as all the others put together." With his rational will and skilled reasoning skills, Kurtz achieves a position of great power and influence over the natives - not unlike that of God - and uses this deified role to push the natives into raiding villages and plundering the land in search of ivory. Although these are barbaric and morally reprehensible acts, they nevertheless demonstrate Kurtz's enormous capacity for practical action to achieve concrete goals. This confirms Kurtz's sanity: he does what he does with reason and with purpose. Kurtz further demonstrates his sanity in accepting reality, something that other agents and pilgrims stupidly and ridiculously ignore. Only Kurtz sees the Company for what it is: a cold commercial enterprise bent on raping Africa of its ivory riches while pretending to be a force of civilization and religion among its inhabitants. Hypocrisy, the denial of reality, is one of the distinctive traits of the Company's workers: the agents claim to be concerned about improving the lives of the indigenous people, but just glimpsing the effects of this "improvement" is enough to destroy the credibility of their so-called concerns : "They were dying slowly - it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly anymore - nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation, lying confused in the greenish darkness." Likewise, the pilgrims claim that their aim is to instill religion and morality in the indigenous people, but at the same time they carry sticks with which they beat the African workers. It seems the only God they worship is wealth, and the only religion.