In Joseph Conrad's novel "Heart of Darkness", imperialism warps the minds of man. It turns them from civilized humans to dominating monsters. It makes the sane insane, and turns the left into the right. .
Almost from the moment Marlow arrives at the Outer Station he starts hearing about Mr. Kurtz- from the accountant, the manager, the brick maker, and finally from the Russian. And he tells us a lot about Kurtz himself, especially during the long digression that comes just after the attack, a few pages before the end of Chapter II. But Kurtz himself is on the scene for only a few pages, and we learn less about him from observation than we do from what these other characters say about him. In fact, after all the build- up, his appearance may even seem a little disappointing: he never turns out to be as exciting as the "unspeakable rites" we're told he participated in. But Kurtz is more important for what he represents than for what he does- we don't get to see him do much of anything. Although he isn't the subject of the novel (Marlow's spiritual journey is), you could call him the focus, the catalyst to which the other characters react. He's more present in his effect on others than in himself. Some characters, such as the Russian and the Intended, are defined almost solely by their relationship to him. .
Even though he isn't strongly present as a personality, as a symbol he's a figure loaded with meaning. Kurtz is a microcosm- a whole in miniature- of the white man's failure in Africa: he goes equipped with the finest technology and the highest philanthropic ideals and ends up injuring (even killing) the Africans and stealing their ivory. He reduces technology to the guns he uses to plunder ivory. .
Kurtz also shows us the consequence of inadequate self-knowledge. He journeys to Africa with noble cause, completely unaware of the dark side of his nature, the side that would respond to the call of the primitive.
