A Hero Left In Oblivion

Kurtz personifies the ideal colonizer. He endured the jungle, the savages and still managed to gain a profit for the company. His achievements' recognition gave him fame and glory, specially, among those that would later join the company's ranks. Despite all these efforts, in the end, the company abandoned him. This event has different interpretation depending on the reader's point of view on the book. This quotation shows the moment of Kurtz's abandonment: "There hasn't been a drop of medicine or a mouthful of invalid food for months here. He was shamefully abandoned. A man like this, with such ideas. Shamefully! Shamefully! I-IT- Haven't slept for the last ten nights…." (Joseph Conrad, 109).

First, this interpretation assumes Heart of Darkness focuses purely on anti-imperialism. In this case, Conrad reveals the true cruel and cold nature of the company's profit driven existence. This would explain why he highlights "medicine and food", goods, civilization should provide. The company's actions also dehumanize Kurtz's great image as a mighty colonizer and diminished the legend behind him. Instead of receiving a hero's treatment, they leave him in oblivion, hopefully, to die there silently. Not only does this reveal the falsehood in the company's propaganda, but it also shows how it dehumanized both the conquerors and the conquered in the processes.

On the other hand, we have a metaphorical interpretation for this quotation. If our narrator really takes us into Conrad's mind, then Kurtz represents the ideal he desperately tried to reach. Despite all his efforts, it remained unattainable. He might have reached the reality of Kurtz but the ideal died that moment. All through the book, he seemed untouchable, immortal and almighty. In the end, he was human.From this we can conclude that Conrad also experienced a similar process when he tried to turn into that ideal. Unfortunately, even after reaching it, he remained flawed and vulnerable. Like the company abandoned Kurtz, Conrad left his ideal alter ego in the most unreachable corners of his mind, to die in oblivion.