heart of darkness
... Kurtz once more. Destiny. My destiny! Droll thing life is—that mysterious arrangement of merciless logic for a futile purpose” (Conrad 87). Marlow is not quite as extreme in his character as those of the company or Kurtz. He is like the middle man and for this the audience is able to relate more to him than the other characters. It seems as though Marlow has somewhat of an inner struggle, but at the same time that does not inhibit his character. He still comes across as a capable, strong-willed, intelligent man. Although his thoughts are somewhat out of the ordinary, it is the idea of the ego that may be saving his image; giving all of his ideas somewhat of an excuse. The ego “regulates the instinctual drives of the id so that they may be released in non-destructive behavioral patterns” (Freud 121). Marlow is mild enough in his actions and ideas, but still open-minded enough so that readers do not find his character altogether disturbing. This is how we, as the readers, allow him to act as our guide. He is the protagonist of the story. Those in the ship that are listening to him are captivated by him because they think so highly of him, although Marlow often doesn’t know what to think of himself. “Soul! If anybody had ever struggled with a soul, I am the one” (Conrad 83). To put modern terms on Marlow, I would say that he is unstable; however, he is the man that is captivating those that listen to him and they believe him. The ego runs his thoughts, actions…who he is and the way that his mind works is the reason for his role of the protagonist in the novella. “In popular language, we may say that the ego stands for reason and circumspection, while the id stands for the untamed passions” (Freud 121). Kurtz runs off of the id. He is clearly a man whose thoughts and actions are based on the pleasure principle. Speaking of Kurtz, Marlow says, “He struggled with himself too. I saw it—I heard it. I saw the inconceivable mystery of a soul that knew no restraint, no faith, and no fear, yet struggling blindly with itself” (Conrad 83). Kurtz doesn’t know how to control himself. He is a lost man whereas at the same time he was supposed to be the leader of this company, expedition. The principal character in opposition to the protagonist or hero of a narrative or drama is the definition of an antagonist according to dictionary.com. This character is Kurtz and the way in which he acts and thinks proves him to be the character that is in opposition with Marlow; thus making him the antagonist. In opposition to Marlow, Kurtz has to be tricky. He uses words that sound pleasing to his audience, but in reality he just has a way of speaking eloquently in order to get what he wants. “Believe me or not, his intelligence was perfectly clear—concentrated, it is true, upon himself with horrible intensity, yet clear,” says Marlow of Kurtz (Conrad 83). Kurtz was not unintelligent; in fact, he has to be quite the opposite in order to fulfill all of his desires. Kurtz’s ideas are based on those of the id. He is somewhat of a “chaos, a cauldron of seething excitement with no organization and no unified will, only an impulsion to obtain...