Oh the Horror!

“The horror! The horror!”

This phrase, repeated by Kurtz as a dying mantra, is the most famous quote taken from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. The reason behind its fame is the meaning behind it, for this quote is proof that short is in no way synonymous to simple.  Kurtz doesn’t give a final speech, in fact he doesn’t talk much in the whole novel (there is more talk done about him than by him) but he doesn’t need to. Even though he physically appears only in the last part of the book, even though he doesn’t say much, even though “Kurtz” is German for “short”, this character is the largest in the whole book. This character shows humanity, imperialism, lust, greed, and every other theme that is important in the story. Knowing this, only one question remains: what is the horror?

Is it the crimes committed against the Africans in the colony? As far as history is concerned, that could be the horror Kurtz is referring to. The colonization of Africa and the industry of ivory that was created from it are probably one of the most violent examples of colonization in recent history. The crimes in Africa ranged from murder to rape and torture. In the book they are shown since the first time Marlow sees an African, and continue throughout the story up to the skulls put up around Kurtz’s camp. This aspect of the novel is definitely a horror.

Is it the fact that no one in the “civilized” society did anything to stop it? When Marlow gets back to Europe, he talks about the people he finds when he gets back. He talks about not being able to relate to them anymore because he finds the petty and generally annoying. How is it that this could happen to someone who originally comes from that society? This could be related to what happens to many soldiers after they come back home from war, they no longer understand how people can live so peacefully and lounge around all day doing nothing in their comfortable beds, they can no longer understand why people complain about such trivial things as homework and cold food. The horror these people witness are so bad, that it is hard for someone who hasn’t seen it to believe it. You may think it sad that many native Africans were killed for something as materialistic as the ivory industry, but you will never grasp how bad it was until you see it. One of the biggest problems in the world is that no one sees what’s going on, and this is most certainly a horror.

Is it his intended, and the fact that she had no idea who he really was? When Marlow gets back to his native country and seeks out Kurtz’s intended, he lies to her about his final words, claiming that “it would have been too dark”  to tell her the truth. As he talks to her, it also becomes apparent that she had no idea who Kurtz really was. She had no idea who she was going to marry or what he had done. This, is also a horror.

Finally, is the horror the fact that we are reading this book, years later, trying to analyze irony and symbolism with no apparent care or feelings for what happened to the people in that colony? The fact that we are sitting here, writing blogs and searching for a deeper meaning without realizing that this actually happened, that people actually died, our continuous cycle of murder and claims for power even when history has shown us the consequences?

For some reason, I think it’s the last.