Why 'Heart of Darkness' is a timeless treasure

Although a great writer, Achebe seems to have been wrong when he universally applies Said's theory of post-colonialism. Indeed, it is difficult to understand how such a literary tour de force can be accused of embodying colonialism.

Missing the point

Some scholars who study this book become so engrossed in issues of racism and colonialism that they forget the main reason it was written: to explore the exceptional personalities Conrad encountered during his own voyages.

Kurtz, a central character, is described by Conrad as having "gone native" and "turned into a savage," yet in the context of the book, 'savage' does not carry the same racist connotation it carries today; rather, it means 'indigenous' or 'native'.

Kurtz's final words sum up what he saw and did. Arriving at Kurtz's station, Marlow sees a row of Africans' heads impaled on spears—the heads of enemies, it turns out. On his way up the river, he had been told of Kurtz's methods being "unsound". Marlow becomes convinced that Kurtz has gone "mad".

This rogue ivory trader had grown to hate Western civilisation and found the life of the "savages" to be truer and more respectable. He chose to stay in a state of majesty and beauty, and over time, he began to be seen as a god, which is how he came to imagine himself and portray himself.

Inspiring character

The character of Kurtz has fascinated artists ever since Conrad created him, leading to several adaptations, including the most well-known: Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 cinematic triumph Apocalypse Now, starring Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando. This takes Conrad's story but sets it in the Vietnam War. In it, Kurtz's character is a special forces commander gone rogue, and Marlow's character (renamed Willard) is a special forces soldier sent to kill him.

The film reflects the self-flagellation and farce of Vietnam, with several scenes having now entered the cultural lexicon, including the officer (played by Robert Duvall) who "loves the smell of napalm in the morning", thus trivialising the invasion. Coppola insisted that Brando play Kurtz, paying him millions of dollars for a month's filming in the Philippines. In truth, Brando is exactly who you imagine when you imagine Kurtz.

In the film, Kurtz is described as "broken", a moral man destroyed by an evil he later embraced, exhausted by existence, searching for the easiest way to salvation, looking for someone to love and then kill him. Curiously, Brando's biographer described the film star as having been "so deeply hurt, so deeply scarred" by the world and the fame that his acting brought, adding that Brando wanted to "take his revenge" on it.

A similar character to Kurtz can be found in Michael Blake's novel Dances with Wolves, about an American officer who, after the Civil War, turns into a supporter of the indigenous people, even refusing to speak English when he is captured.

Another adaptation is Jim Harrison's Legends of the Fall. The film tells the story of Tristan, the son of an American officer who fights in World War I and witnesses horror and evil. The experience tears him apart and envelops him in madness as he crosses into indigenous life. Here again, the indigenous people appear as the face of innocence before their corruption at the hands of the West.

On that note, it seems apt to remember Conrad's famous phrase: "The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness."