... (Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 6: Late Nineteenth Century: Naturalism - A Brief Introduction."", http://www.csutan.edu/English/reuben/pal/chp6/6intro.html). The belief that man cannot determine for himself his own actions is a rather depressing one. This determinism is exhibited as Marlow sits in the jungle, helpless, as he waits for rivets to come to repair his ship. This belief, that man cannot do things ... for himself, helps reinforce the helpless tone of the story. At the same time, it also reinforces the theme of the story, that because man is evil inside, he cannot help but release th...

• Word Count: 4223
• Approx Pages: 17
• Grade Level: High School

... Kurtz has lost his humanity and now rules with cruelty and hate. Kurtz' insanity is evident in the statement, "Exterminate all the brutes!" he scrawls at the bottom of a report he wrote for the Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs. Kurtz had come to the jungle with the intent to civilize but now he faces his death as an empty, hateful, vengeful man. Chapter ... asks Marlow to help him flee because he fears that the manager wants to kill him. Marlow helps the Russian escape into the jungle and laments the corrupt and chaotic state of his situation. Conrad follows the chaotic scene...

• Word Count: 4309
• Approx Pages: 17
• Grade Level: High School

... narrating his story he and the crew are waiting onboard the Nellie for the tide to turn. The turning of the tide represents the turning of the revolution which is taking place in the African Congo. The white men are continually trying to colonize the jungle so that they can easily get the ivory out and make wealth off of the land which in the future the hope to industrialize. The tide in history is about ... to turn. The European Kurtz symbolizes the decaying Western ... ...

• Word Count: 4389
• Approx Pages: 18
• Grade Level: High School

... and then up the Congo, Marlow encounters widespread inefficiency and brutality in the Company's stations. The native inhabitants of the region have been forced into the Company's service, and they suffer terribly from overwork and ill treatment at the hands of the Company's agents. The cruelty and squalor of imperial enterprise contrasts sharply with the impassive and majestic jungle that surrounds the white man's ... settlements, making them appear to be tiny islands amidst a vast darkness. Marlow arrives at the Central Station, run by the general manager, an unwholesome, conspiratorial...

• Word Count: 3088
• Approx Pages: 12
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... to perhaps obtain some personal enlightenment. But the Russian sailor is also a fool. He is so awed by Kurtz's ideas that he becomes blind to the evil Kurtz does. Marlow tells his comrades earlier that a fool is safe from madness in the jungle: "you can be too dull even to ... know you are being assaulted by the powers of darkness-(p 70). The Russian is important because he tells Marlow about ... Kurtz, and Marlow begins to realize the extent of Kurtz's madness. At last, Marlow meets Kurtz. Although the event had been much anticipated throughout the ... of enlightenment and has lost ...

• Word Count: 4081
• Approx Pages: 16
• Grade Level: High School