Restraining people can save their lives or put them at serious risk of death. A person's ability to hold back plays an important role when exploring the unknown. In the novel Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, moderation plays an important role throughout the novel. Conrad uses moderation to show the corruption of European culture and how people can change when faced with difficulties that test their moderation. At the end of the novel, Conrad shows that moderation symbolizes civility. Moderation works its way through the three parts of Heart of Darkness; people who have been in chaos learn moderation, while people who have been in civilization cannot control themselves. Fresleven, the cannibals, the helmsman, and Kurtz all show restraint or loss of restraint in the novel. Marlow's story begins with him telling the story of Fresleven, a European who lost control and couldn't control himself. Fresleven, being born into civilization, never learned proper restraint. Fresleven, known as “the gentlest, quietest creature that ever walked on two legs” (Conrad 6) shows how easy it is to lose restraint. Freselven went mad because civilization never forced him to be restrained. Fresleven lost control as it moved from the sophisticated society of Europe to the uncivilized jungle of Africa. People who grow up in chaos and uncivilized jungle adapt to holding back in order to survive. Cannibals show great restraint because they have learned to control themselves. Days without food can darken the kindest minds, but somehow cannibals keep themselves from going mad. Joseph Conrad tries to show the reader how the cannibals practiced moderation and this helps them survive. Any euro... in the middle of paper... blindly closed in on itself” (61). Kurtz gives up by the end of the book. Kurtz has nothing left to give and has allowed himself to succumb to the chaos that overwhelms him. The disorder and confusion of Africa has eaten away at Kurtz and caused him to lose control. Joseph Conrad shows how easily people can lose control. Only the cannibals, whom Marlow expected to lose control, refrain from going mad in the face of starvation. Fresleven, the helmsman, and Kurtz show how “enlightened” people often lose restraint first. “Civilized” people continue to lose control due to the chaos around them. People who learn to adapt to the idea of ​​moderation survive, and people born in European civilization did not know how to control themselves. Works Cited Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: Dover Publications, 1990. Print.