the book heart of darkness showed the humanization of the other

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Humanization in the Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness is primarily characterized by the demonstration of the vast depravity of human beings. Set in the heart of Congo, the title accurately describes how the author through the main character Marlow sees the land. In the first, Conrad already presents the country which in reality is known for spectacular beauty as a place where the air was dark above the Gravesend. Through the eyes of Marlow, Conrad exclaims that the place spelled mournful gloom that was condensed and brooded motionless over this great town. (Conrad 1) From the onset, the author thus concentrates on expressing the cruelty and inhumanity of individuals at the station and across the stops of the sail. However, like every epic literary narrative, the author does not succumb to pure doom. Conrad’s triumph emerges through Marlow and Kurtz through whom he expresses humanization and the persistence of positive character amidst any density of evil.
Man hearts desires what is truly beautiful. It desires truth, justice, knowledge, and love. The truest expression of humanity is thus the acknowledgment of something that is beautiful. Although Marlow likens the area around him with the grave, his heart expresses a yearning for communion with the dazzling beauty around him. He expresses the desire with which each one of them stared into the area around them. The captain too seemed to forget that his work was in the gloomy shadows behind them as the beauty of the sun’s reflection in the water and the banks around them became more profound.

(Conrad 2) From the beginning, Conrad thus expresses the most profound nature of the individuals on that ship. (Taylor 196) While he prepares to introduce the reader to the immense cruelty of man, he intends to begin by acknowledging that there is the innate nature of man that is drawn to goodness and is reawakened every time an individual encounters something great.
Marlow himself is a near cynical person. In his initial reminisce; the reader catches a glimpse into the depth of his cynicism. As he goes about chanting about the darkness of the areas around him, his mates do not bother responding as it seems this is the nature of his manners. He is unable to fathom the meaning of life as he wonders the meaning and difference of worth for the Romans and colonists alike. However, he is not entirely hopeless. He has begun a journey in search of Kurtz who is the specter for the evil captain and an image of the ideal. (Handledare and Falk 5)
Although surrounded by evil, Marlow never succumbs to complete damnation. He is always open to beauty and positive aspects of a person. Although distant and in many instances unemotional, he still empathizes with fellow man and tries to create hope. He thus cannot let Kurtz fee hopeless into the cannibals and encourages him to sail with him on the ship. Even after his death, he holds on to the enigma of complete moral and goodness, and therefore he refuses to upset this image in front of the fiancé.
This is the same with Kurtz who suffers immensely out of his desire to shun the fierce animosity of fellow white masters. Although sometime immortalized into an unforgiving caricature by the poachers and colonists, he is admired for his ability to draw on the people. He has created a close bond with the natives, and everyone describes him with positive characteristics. Although he dies, it is his influences that remain and dominated Marlow and everyone who lives in these shadows. (Taylor 197)
Through the persistence of these cultures, Conrad manages to demonstrate the versatility of goodness against evil. It can perpetuate itself and remains after an individual’s lifetime. Through his book, Conrad shows the relevance of goodness no matter how insignificant it may seem. Despite the vast spread of inhumanity in the Congo basin when the book is written, the humanity of Kurtz reigns majestic shattering any evil plans of his adversaries.

Works Cited
Conrad, Joseph. Heart Of Darkness. 1st ed. New York: Signet Classic, 1997. Print.
Handledare, Morgan Svensson and Erik Falk. Critical Responses To Joseph Conrad’S Heart Of Darkness. 1st ed. Vårterminen: Institutionen för kultur och kommunikation Kandidatuppsats, 2010. Print.
Taylor, Derek. “Conrad’s Heart Of Darkness”. The Explicator 56.4 (1998): 195-198. Web.