Heart of Darkness study guide

Marlow

Marlow enters Company employment and looks to work as a way of discovering himself. He retrieves Kurtz and preserves his papers, but concealing Kurtz's last words suggests that loyalty complicates his commitment to truth.

Key parts: 1, 2, 3

Kurtz

Kurtz first appears through praise for his ivory shipments, before the Russian reveals his violence. His grand ambitions and resistance to departure suggest a desire for power that persists even as he approaches death.

Key parts: 1, 2, 3

the manager

The manager commands through uneasiness, while his uncle's talk of eliminating competition suggests the hostility surrounding Company advancement. His satisfaction during the return and dispute over Kurtz's papers show that rivalry continues beyond the journey toward Kurtz.

Key parts: 1, 2, 3

the Russian

The Russian is a sailor in patched clothes whose welcome introduces Marlow to his admiration for Kurtz. He nurses Kurtz and excuses his violence, showing how devotion can survive knowledge that might otherwise provoke judgment.

Key parts: 2, 3

the brickmaker

The brickmaker treats Marlow as someone with influence and tries to protect his own position.

Key parts: 1

the Company's chief accountant

The Company's chief accountant maintains spotless clothes and orderly accounts while praising Kurtz. His resentment of suffering and noise suggests that careful attention to appearances and business can coexist with a refusal to attend to pain.

Key parts: 1

the foreman

The foreman is a skilled widower with six children who discusses pigeons with Marlow. Their shared celebration of prospective rivets suggests a connection grounded in practical work rather than the pursuit of influence.

Key parts: 1

Greed and rivalry

The agents' competition for profitable posts shows ambition turning inward, as scheming takes the place of useful activity. The uncle's willingness to contemplate a competitor's death suggests that rivalry makes other people obstacles to remove rather than lives to respect.

Where it shows: parts 1, 2

Restraint and power

The hungry crewmen's calm shows restraint holding even under physical pressure, while the Russian's account reveals Kurtz's violence.

Where it shows: parts 2, 3

Devotion and judgment

The Russian's praise, nursing, and excuses show devotion continuing alongside knowledge of violence. Marlow's preservation of the papers and concealment of the last words suggest a related tension, since protecting someone's memory can become a reason to withhold what others hear.

Where it shows: parts 2, 3

Work and pretense

Marlow's view of work as self-discovery contrasts with agents who seek profitable posts while accomplishing little. His shared excitement with the foreman over rivets suggests that practical effort offers a firmer basis for connection than the pursuit of position.

Where it shows: parts 1

Ivory

Ivory works as a measure of success because Kurtz's shipments bring him praise. Alongside competition for profitable posts, it suggests how commercial rewards can narrow the standards by which people judge achievement.

Part 1

Rivets

Rivets work as a concrete focus for Marlow's frustrated efforts. The foreman's shared excitement suggests the value of practical cooperation when even obtaining necessary materials becomes a struggle.

Part 1

Kurtz's papers

Kurtz's papers work as a material form of the trust he places in Marlow. The dispute over their possession suggests that preserving a person's words also raises questions about who controls their memory.

Part 3

Marlow, Part 1. In his account of acquisitive behavior, Marlow describes taking as an end in itself. The line shows greed stripped of a purpose beyond possession, alongside the agents' competition for profitable posts.

Marlow, Part 2. Marlow reflects on restraint as the hungry crewmen remain calm during the journey. His surprise shows both the strength of their self-control and the limits of what he expects to understand.

The narrator, Part 3. The line suggests that having a choice does not guarantee an innocent or comforting course.