In the Name of Kurtz

Towards the end of the novel, Marlow personally encounters Kurtz, but before that he had a very interesting conversation with the Russian guy. Like many others in the novel, the Russian did not view Kurtz as a normal man, but rather a remarkable one. In his opinion Kurtz was an example, a warrior, a great man, and he believed every one thought of him that way. All this glorifying resembled Kurtz as a god-like figure, but really, Kurtz was the complete opposite.

On man´s opinion does not make a man´s reputation, but many others shared the Russian´s thoughts about Mr. Kurtz. He described Kurtz´ arrival as coming with “thunder and lighting,” two things associated with the greatest God of the Olympians: Zeus, who was known for being the God of lighting, and ruling the skies. Kurtz was described with such honors.

Also, through out the book, the people who thought highly of Kurtz always said that it was difficult not to love him. As a catholic, I can say that we love God. This is what we are taught since little and this is exactly what the father talked about in yesterday´s mass. He stated repetitively that nothing could exist without love. That we humans cannot live without God´s love; it is a necessity for us but not for him. This is exactly why Kurtz is not a God, even though many thought of him as more than a normal man. He is the opposite of God. God loves of but does not demand love in return. Kurtz, on the other hand wanted all the attention and wealth to himself and did not think about others. The Russian told Marlow “he [Kurtz] declared he would shoot me unless I gave him the ivory,” (pg. 104) even though the Russian had been a good friend, who had kept him company and had even cured him twice.

The author described the Russian as “Kurtz last disciple” (pg. 109) and by no means was he equivocal. He was the last man standing in the heart of darkness who still worshipped Kurtz. He talked about him like there was no other important man in the universe, but him being the perfect disciple did not make Kurtz a God.

Every body has a different perception of God, but there are similarities between everybody´s opinion. One of the most common could be that God always put everybody before himself, and Kurtz did not do this. He was so consumed about getting wealthy with ivory that he forgot about every thing else. Also, God never acts to prove others right or wrong and it seemed that “Kurtz wanted and audience:” (pg. 102) an audience to watch him conquest an impossible task. Something, that at the end he could not accomplish. He died trying to accomplish his own task. He died alone, with nothing but a stranger by his side.