Heart of Darkness Post

The theme of restraint is the most prominent in the novel Heart of Darkness. Restraint was what saved Marlow while it was the cause of Kurtz failure.

Restraint is something that Marlow assumed everyone practiced. As he reached Africa he found this not to be true. It seemed as if everything was meaningless. The only people who seemed to understand restraint were the manager and the cannibals. Marlow states, “The cannibals some of those ignorant millions, are almost totally characterized by restraint.” Even though they out numbered the whites, they did not attack them. Marlow later characterizes them stating, “…would have as soon expected restraint from a hyena prowling amongst the corpses of a battlefield.” Marlow is impressed by such restraint that the cannibals show compared to even Kurtz. Even though they outnumbered the whites, they did not try to harm them. Or at least the ones that were near the white’s camps. The cannibals that follow Kurtz also practiced restraint towards the whites. When Marlow was trying to rescue Kurtz the natives did not harm him when Kurtz told them not to. In the novel Marlow’s restraint seems to be work while the manager’s work is to keep up with his appearance. It is these restraints that allow them to not fall into the darkness of the Congo. He soon discovers that the only way for people to not lose themselves in the darkness is to find their own restraint. In the case of Kurtz, he practiced no restraint and got lost in the darkness of the Congo. For example he gave in to the temptations of power and suffered the consequences. Even though Kurtz used to be a man with morals much like Marlow, those are lost when he reverts back to his primitive nature in the heart of the Congo. Even at Kurtz’ lowest point he crawled back into the jungle because he had no restraint over the need to be with the natives. Although at Kurtz’ death scene he exhibits some restraint when he says, “The horror! The horror!”. Marlow takes this statement as Kurtz’ judgment on himself as well as a hint of a soul inside of Kurtz. Kurtz is not alone in his lack of restraint in most of the novel. The helmsman display a lack of restraint when they open the shutter of the cabin, as well as the pilgrims who eagerly shoot the harmless natives.

The theme of restraint in Heart of Darkness is seen throughout the novel. Whether it is the presence or lack of it is between each of the characters. There seems to be a direct relation between restraint and losing oneself within the darkness of the Congo. This is made explicit in the juxtaposition of Kurtz and Marlow.