About time Kurtz.

While reading this chapter, I could not help but feel a major anticlimactic feeling. Based on chapter 1 and 2, I felt that this would be the chapter that would finish of the book with a bang, yet it ended with creating confusion in my mind.

Going back to the start of chapter 3, the descriptions from the Russian trader characterize Kurtz as supernatural human being. The trader talks highly about him with Marlow and he goes into detail about how he gave wonder speeches and his ideas are very philosophical. I found it ironic that the trader still spoke highly of Kurtz even though he threatened to shoot the Russian over a small box of ivory. This bit of information gives insight to how deranged Kurtz has become due to his stay in the “heart of darkness” as it is implied throughout the book that Kurtz is situated in the heart of darkness. Another ironic situation mentioned in this book was that the Natives do not want Kurtz to leave, yet Kurtz is raiding other native villages and destroying other native populations. I think that this is incorporated to symbolize that greed has taken over Kurtz AND the natives around him due to their location in the heart of darkness where sanity is lost by the people.

Finally, Kurtz is revealed in this chapter, though it is very anticlimactic as he a weak and destroyed person. With all the previous descriptions, I envisioned a man of great build, tall, and a demanding figure, yet here we see Kurtz on his deathbed, waiting to embrace death. An incident that I found intriguing was how Kurtz cried “The horror! The horror!” before his death. I think that Kurtz saw his past experiences flash past his eyes as he was dying. He was able to reflect on these past images and conclude that he has committed horrible crimes upon humanity. Either way, the end of the book left me in confusion and darkness, which could potentially be the intended effect of the author as it is a parallel with the title of the story.