We have discussed this question many times in psychology. Some .
feel that your personality is reflective of your genetic makeup, and that personality will stay the same regardless of environment. Others are convinced that environment shapes personal characteristics. In the Heart of Darkness, Kurtz seems to have changed because of the environment. He was placed in an atmosphere where his evil instincts were able to take over. Kurtz began to murder and he set himself apart from the society in which he developed. The question is whether or not Kurtz was corrupted because of this environment, or if these traits were always in his genetic makeup. We can also relate this to our everyday experiences. Are the people blessed with successful genes more likely to survive better in our society than those placed in healthy environments? Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness was worth conquering the initial struggle I had with his writing style. Conrad's unique portrayal of the nature of good vs. evil grabbed my attention and challenged my imagination. As I became comfortable with Conrad's descriptive language I was not only ably to find the inner meaning of his book but relate his concepts to my personal feelings and experiences as well.
Joseph Conrad develops themes of personal power, individual responsibility, and social justice in his book Heart of Darkness. His book has all the trappings of the conventional adventure tale - mystery, exotic setting, escape, suspense, unexpected attack. Yet, despite Conrad's great story telling, he has also been viewed as a racist by some of his critics. Normal readers like me usually are good at detecting racism in a book. Having gone back and rereading Heart of Darkness, but this time reading between the lines, I had discovered some racism Conrad .
felt toward the natives that I had not discovered the first time I read the book. Racism is portrayed in Conrad's book, but one must acknowledge that back in the eighteen hundreds society .
