Heart of Darkness: Reading #5

“ ‘The last word he pronounced was-- your name’... Hadn’t he said he wanted only justice? But I couldn’t. I could not tell her. It would have been too dark-- too dark altogether...” (157).

            While the hypocrisy of imperialism is seen throughout the book, the hypocrisy of characters is also prevalent. The manager and Marlow are both hypocrites. Focusing on Marlow, however, he contradicts himself at the end of the book. Throughout the entire story, Marlow repeats himself when he explains that he detests a lie. Throughout the book, he also expresses his fascination with Mr. Kurtz. Marlow is intrigued by Kurtz because so many people compare the two. He also admires Kurtz because Kurtz does not lie. He is straightforward with his desires and does not put on a façade. When Marlow finally meets the source of his fascination, he is disappointed, but continues to show loyalty. At the end of the book when Marlow gives Kurtz’s letters to his significant other, he lies to her. He tells her that the last word Kurtz said was her name, when it was actually “The horror! The horror!” By doing this, Marlow contradicts himself. He says that he hates a lie, but then goes and lies to this woman, claiming defense in loyalty to Kurtz. He likes Kurtz because he does not lie, but then shows loyalty to the man by lying. Perhaps Marlow’s latter hypocrisy stems from his morals. To him, loyalty prevails over truthfulness. The last part of this quote also demonstrates Marlow’s morals. He feels compelled to spare this woman’s feelings rather than tell her the truth. These types of emotions and morals are established after the trip into the jungle, therefore denying any proof of morality from Marlow while in Africa.