Heart of Darkness

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: 1,75, Gymnasium, language: English, abstract: As a child, Marlow wanted to explore 'blank spaces' on the globe. This dream turns into reality when Marlow becomes a sailor when he is a young man. He gets appointed by an ivory-trading company. His mission is to go to the Congo and visit enigmatic Mr Kurtz. On this voyage through the jungle he has to wait at several stations of his company, where he notices how meaningless the work of the white agents in the Congo is. This makes him to an anti-colonialist. He recognizes the lie in the words 'enemies', 'criminals' or 'rebels' used in connection with the natives by the other white 'pilgrims'. In some situation he feels sympathy with the native workers, but mostly he reacts like an objective observer; especially at the beginning of his story. Later his character changes: His coolness vanishes more and more, but he get more human and shows feelings.