The Heart of Darkness

The Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad's novel The Heart of Darkness contains many underlying commentaries on society's existing expectations of behavior, and what happens when those are taken to extremes, then removed from the context of their existence. More specifically, focus will be placed on the character Kurtz's final words, "the horror, the horror," and how this explains and captures the essence of the previous statement. To give the reader a greater sense of understanding …

…the thought of what little it is that makes these people total demons. His society made these people, and not only claimed them but supported and validated their cruel and inhuman emotions. He realized at the end that these people were a representation of the society that he had been apart of, the society that said it was better than the others when in fact it was probably the most cold, stiff, formal, and dispassionate.