Hendricks 1 Austin Hendricks Dr. Owen LNG 407 16 April 2012 Good vs.

Evil In his book Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad explores the eternal struggle between good and evil as seen through the eyes of Charles Marlow. As he begins his story, Marlow is in London, preparing to journey into the Congo for a Belgian trading company. He describes London as one of the dark places of the earth (3). Marlow suggests that perhaps civilization is not quite what is seems. Rather than describing London as some kind of pure city, he casts darkness over its streets, suggesting that it is almost as evil as the Congo. Conrad could be suggesting that evil is not confined to any particular region or race, but instead is present all over the world. He suggests that it is not a matter of whether or not evil is present in someone or something, but to what extent has the evil taken over. Marlow and Kurtz are examples of this idea. Marlow is supposed to be the purest individual in the novel. The reader is led to believe that he is somehow better than all the other characters in the book. After all, he does not kill the natives or commit any of the other atrocities that the rest of his race has done. However, he does nothing to stop the abuse and crimes of the others. How can he condone the actions of others and participate in the invasion of another country? Perhaps he is not the morally upright character that the reader believes him to be, but instead simply has not had the chance to be corrupted like everyone else. This does not necessarily mean that man is inherently evil, but that he is susceptible to corruption and capable of evil. At the other end of the spectrum is Kurtz. He is representative of the corruption that all men can experience. Despite the fact that he is well-

Hendricks 2 educated and used to be one of the most charismatic individuals in the Congo, he has been transformed into a corrupt creature like all the others. He has committed the same crimes, the same barbaric actions, as the rest of the characters. Even though he was one of the most civilized characters in the novel, he still gave in to the corruption. Kurtz could possibly represent the Devil in that he was once a pure individual that became evil. Like the Devil, Kurtz was originally an honorable figure with morals and dignity. However, he abandoned his beliefs and was transformed into an abomination that has done horrific things. He is also charismatic and can easily sway others to follow his new beliefs. Like the Devil, he has been isolated from the rest of humanity and has reverted to an animalistic mindset. However, as he dies, he realizes the atrocities he has committed and is horrified by them. This constant struggle between light and dark is present throughout the book. Many of Conrads descriptions throughout the novel include light being overcome by darkness, such as when he says We live in the flicker- may it last as long as the old earth keeps rolling! But darkness was here yesterday (3). He is saying that even though they live in light times now, the darkness is always out there, lurking, waiting to engulf the light. This imagery is prevalent throughout the novel, meaning that Conrad is trying to say that no matter how honorable someone seems, there is always the threat of darkness within them. However, the other side of that thinking is that there is also the potential for good within each person. This is shown in Marlows actions towards Kurtzs widow. Instead of telling her about the monster that Kurtz had become, he allows her to maintain her beliefs that he was a good and honorable man. This shows that every person is capable of both good and evil, and it is simply the circumstances that affect the decisions they make. Conrad seems to be saying that man cannot be either entirely good or entirely evil, but instead is a mixture of the two. He does this by showing the reader both Kurtz and Marlow: two sides of the same coin. One strives to maintain

Hendricks 3 his morality in one of the darkest and most corrupt places on earth, while the other is representative of the creature that he could become if he gives in to the temptations that surround him. It is up to the reader to decide the morality of each character, contributing even further to Conrads ambivalent attitude towards the traditional ideas of good and evil.