Summary: Hypocrisy In Heart Of Darkness

Words: 822
Pages: 4

Becca Carter
Heart of Darkness Essay
ENG4U
Ms. Potts
October 9th, 2014

The Hypocrisy and Inner Darkness demonstrated in Heart of Darkness
Inner darkness is the brutality, savagery and cruelty that lie within man’s morals. In Heart of Darkness, this inner darkness is present in many of the characters. For Kurtz and the members of The Company, their inner darkness is illustrated through their treatment of the Natives and their tactics of taking Ivory. Although many characters possesses inner darkness in Heart of Darkness, the novel depicts how hypocrisy is required to cover up man's inner darkness, by how The Company points the finger at other people for similar cruelty that they themselves demonstrate. Two main events of this behaviour are when The Company refers to the Natives (who
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The members of the Company are trying to cover up their inner darkness by accusing others of the same acts of savagery they’re committing and pointing the finger on someone else. During the Company’s mistreatment of the Natives, they do not address them as the Natives or their Slaves, but instead ‘Criminals’. These people are not criminals, and as Marlow watches them dying on the hillside he says, “They were not enemies, they were not criminals” (Conrad 226:1899), but for the Company to cover up their inner, moral darkness they justify their actions with labeling the Natives as criminals. The Company also makes it clear of their feelings towards Kurtz, when Marlow tells the Manager that he thinks Kurtz “is a remarkable man”, the Manger glares at him and tells him “he was” (Conrad 275:1899). They’re passing these judgments all while they’re acting with the same barbarism. In both of these scenarios, The Company is hypocritically frowning upon other people’s actions or accusing them falsely in efforts to cover up their own