Discussion of Kurtz’s Report in “Heart of Darkness”

Kurtz wrote the report for the International Society for the Suppression of Savage
Customs. By the name of this company, it can easily be deducted that they want to be seen as
good willed but most likely their purposes were not so innocent. Kurtz was a well educated
man made in Europe to be sent in Africa, by his saying for acts of “improvement” there.
Marlow first notes that the report, in the beginning, talks about how the white people must
seem like “deities” to the “savages”, and Kurtz estabilishes himself as a godlike figure to the
natives to exploit them. Marlow mentions that as the time goes on, Kurtz has been a
participant in natives’ rites and even natives making these rites for or to him. But the report
ends with a weird p.s., “Exterminate all the brutes!”

Marlow, when he talks about Kurtz’s past and education, uses the word “original”,
because he sees the change Africa brought to Kurtz. Especially how he talks about all the
things he owns and how these affected him, with the natives. He was now a different man,
just like a native, acting off of his animalistic side; not the “original” Kurtz who was an
educated, civilised European man. At the beginning of the report, he seems to think of
himself as a god to the natives, bringing civilisation to them, but at the end of the report, it
can easily be seen that he is transformed into them, letting his animalistic side take over.

This change, this fascination with Africa, is seen with a lot of the Europeans that
travel there. Marlow talks about a guy named Fresleven, who was described as such a good
guy, but after he was in Africa for a couple of years; he got into a fight with a chief about two
hens. He thought he was wronged, he attacked the chief and he was murdered. Fresleven was
a good man, but only contained within the chains of the civilised society. When he broke
those chains, he became a different breed, his wild side was awakened. He attacked a man, a
native who he was “bringing civilisation” to, for only two hens.

The Congo River is described looking like a snake in the book, this has several
connotations. It refers to the Biblical story of Adam and Eve; by following the “snake”
(Congo River) and by eating from the Tree of Knowledge (seeing this animalistic side of the
human being), such people regarded as “civilised, good people”, are transformed into their
wild side, giving into the temptation and evil. The knowledge that has been installed in them,
changed them completely; they are banished from the “heavens” and can never go back to
their original self. Africa transformed Fresleven as well as Kurtz in this sense.