Essay Database

A Characterization of Marlow and Kurtz The characterization of Marlow and Kurtz begins with the physical appearance and then moves on to the psychological and/or emotional makeup of the two characters. Marlow is the protagonist of the story, who ventures to Africa looking to sail a steamboat, but finds much more. Kurtz is the unique victim of colonization; the wilderness captures him and he turns his back on all customs and people that were …

…his abject pleading, his abject threats, the colossal scale of his vile desires, the meanness, the torment, the tempestuous anguish of his soul”( ). In many respects, the view of Marlow is that of a typical European. Still, he is intended to be a versatile character, one of the few who does not belong to a distinct class, and can thus relate to different kinds of people with more ease than his peers in the story.