How is kurtz described

He had a bad chi or personal god, and evil fortune followed him to the grave, or rather to his death, for he had no grave. He died of the swelling which was an abomination to the earth goddess.

Unoka died from abdominal swelling, which the Igbo interpret as an abomination. The egwugwu are masked dancers that represent the nine ancestral spirits of Umuofia. These masked ancestral spirits are enigmatic in nature and comprise of nine revered village elders, who ceremonially gather to administer justice.

Difference 8: Okonkwo was successful. Similarity 1: Both Okonkwo and Unoka died without titles. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel. Ben Davis May 31, How is Kurtz described in Heart of Darkness? How does Marlow describe Kurtz? Who are the characters in Heart of Darkness? How is Kurtz a tragic hero? What is the moral lesson of things fall apart? Why does Okonkwo kill himself? What Okonkwo fears most? Is Okonkwo good or bad?

Or as Marlow so beautifully says, the "powers of darkness have claimed him for their own" 2. Marlow ends up refining his obsession with Kurtz all the way down to one particular aspect: his voice. He's not excited about seeing Kurtz or shaking his hand or talking about last night's Lakers game, he says—just hearing him talk. This little narrative interruption drives home just how important Kurtz's voice is. Now consider this: Marlow, sitting on the Nellie and telling his story in the pitch-dark, is explicitly described as "no more to us than a voice" to the men that listen 2.

And then, When he finds an "appeal" in the "fiendish row" of the Africans dancing on shore, he negates it with the claim, "I have a voice, too, and for good or evil mine is the speech that cannot be silenced" 2. So is this voice business merely another tool to establish connections between Marlow and Kurtz?

If Marlow's voice is never silenced, what about Kurtz's? The guy dies, after all. But are his last words resonant for us? Does Heart of Darkness end on a note of "horror"? The native Africans worship Kurtz like a god, even attacking to keep Kurtz with them. But here's the irony: we're not sure whether Kurtz orders the attack or whether the native Africans do it on their own we get conflicting stories from the harlequin. Kurtz may be a god, but he's also a prisoner to his devotees.

He can order mass killings of rebels, but he can't walk away freely. Ready for some more irony? Kurtz was apparently seven feet tall or so although we figure Marlow was riding the hyperbole train here. But his name means "short" in German—which Marlow makes sure to point out, just in case we're not caught up with our Rosetta Stone cassettes.

So, his name contradicts his god-like height, a discrepancy that reflects the big fat lie of his life and death, and which we're thinking means his life as a god was also false. First, is Kurtz mad? Um, yes. We think that jamming a bunch of heads on sticks might qualify, but if that weren't enough, Marlow makes sure we know that, although the man's intelligence is clear, Kurtz's "soul [is] mad" 3.

And then his madness becomes physical, so that his bodily sickness is a reflection of his diseased mind. His slow, painful spiral into death is marked by visions and unintelligible ravings. Parts of the narrative recount the emptiness of Kurtz's soul; this may be a commentary on the debilitating and devastating power of the wilderness to suck all the humanity out of a man.

And now for those famous final words: "The horror! Imperialism the influence? Kurtz ran off under the influence to become the top of the heap. Have lived and worked in over a dozen nations on the dark continent. The African black, however, has nothing on the American black, for despite the self imposed horror of Africa, the children there know who their father is.

I have never met a sub-saharan black who did not dislike american blacks. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Prove you are human, type c a t s in singular form below:.

What is a persona? Who is Kurtz? The Transformation Within Kurtz As previously mentioned, Kurtz has been known to clearly exercise a powerful influence on the people in his life. Works Cited Bausch, Richard, and R. Wikimedia Foundation, n. What do you think? Leave a comment. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter. Posted on Feb 9, by. Kevin Mohammed. Fiction writer and anime sommlier wishing to enhance his writing skills and abilities.

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