Heart Of Darkness

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“Mistah Kurtz—he dead” (Conrad 64). Another death occurs when the attack on the steamer leaves the helmsmen dead with “the shaft of a spear in the side just below the ribs” (Conrad 64). Marlow decides to “[tip] him overboard” because “if [his] late helmsmen was to be eaten, the fishes alone should have him. He had been a very second-rate helmsmen” (Conrad 47). Second, corruption overshadowed all other themes as the major theme of the novel. As Marlow’s journey progresses, the corruption of the trading business becomes increasingly obvious. Kurtz “had collected, bartered, swindled, or stolen more ivory than all the other agents together” (Conrad 43). Despite his reputation as a thief and a swindler, people in the ivory trading business regarded Kurtz as a “first-class agent” and “a very remarkable person” (Conrad 16). In addition, when Marlow came to Kurtz’s station to trade with him, “Kurtz … ordered [an] attack to be made on the steamer” (Conrad 58), even though Marlow came in ...

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