Heart of Darkness Versus Surfacing: Madness Taking Over

In Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Surfacing by Margaret Atwood, there is a definite element of madness in both Kurtz and the narrator. The madness within these two novels is a means of changing both people. It changes them into something they're not, but it also makes them realize the truth about themselves. This madness can either be why the quest took place in the first place, as is the case in Surfacing, or it can be the result of the quest, as in Heart of Darkness. Whichever case it is though, this madness changes these people to something they're not, and it is these changes that bring out the truth.

In Heart of Darkness, Kurtz develops madness during and throughout his quest. Although Kurtz was once known as one of the best ivory hunters in Africa, he gradually fell victim to losing his humanity. Kurtz's madness may have been caused for many reasons. He obviously lost touch with humanity by being out in the jungle for so long. All he began to care about was ivory and owning it. I believe he became greedy with his need to own all the ivory; "He declared he would shoot me unless I gave him the ivory and then cleared out of the country, because he could do so, and had a fancy for it, and there was nothing on earth to prevent him killing whom he jolly well pleased."(pg. 51) Anyone who enjoys shooting others just for the pleasure of it is mad, besides taking it for granted and abusing the power. I believe therefore that Kurtz lost touch with his humanity by encountering the realities of life and death within the jungle. The extended length of time he was out in the jungle obviously had an effect on his mind, and therefore caused him to loose sight of right and wrong. The first of the basic human principles to go, it wasn't long before his other levels of humanity began to dissipate.

Furthermore, out in the jungle Kurtz was on a quest searching for his truth, but once out there I also believe he wanted to civilize the savages out there. However, he lost sight of that goal during all his trials and tribulations. As an ivory poacher with growing success, he lost sight of his other goals and became infatuated with obtaining the ivory. It must have been during this time that the wilderness got to him. Once the wilderness and its ways had him Kurtz turned his back on everything that was a part of him, and it was here that his mind slowly and gradually went crazy. When Kurtz abandoned all his beliefs and known ways of life, he began living by the way of the jungle. It was all these experiences within the jungle that affected Kurtz so deeply, but I believe the main reason was the ivory hunting. Kurtz was so obsessed with obtaining all the ivory that he thought of almost nothing else He was willing to do anything or kill anyone to acquire this ivory, and it was through the life and death realities within the jungle that he became de-sensitized. He lost his hold on humanity. "Save me!-Save the ivory, you mean. Don't tell me. Save me! Why, I've had to save you. You are interrupting my plans now. Sick! Not so sick as you would like to believe. Never mind. I'll carry out my ideas yet-I will return." (pg.56) The ivory within Heart of Darkness was almost like a symbol of Kurtz's madness. It is significant of Kurtz's changes throughout the novel. Although the ivory was one of Kurtz's conquests it showed us how much he changed and how badly he was affected. The ivory was always there for every experience, and showed us how Kurtz was growing worse throughout the novel. Therefore, the ivory was symbolic not only of Kurtz's greed, but also of his changes which led to his madness.

Furthermore, it was the fact of Kurtz going on the quest and his experiences within the quest that resulted in his madness. Kurtz was a very ambitious man who set no restrictions on himself, but yet he somehow let himself succumb to the madness. His quest began within himself but his ivory poaching quickly took over this particular quest. His greed for the ivory took over his body and soul, which in turn left him unfeeling, basically desensitized to the death he caused around him. I believe that if he would have remained in his normal life settings then he would have stayed healthy and happy, but it was the death and greed and life in the jungle that finally got to him, and changed him, "Nevertheless I think Mr. Kurtz is a remarkable man, I said with emphasis. He started, dropped on me a cold heavy glance, said very quietly, 'he was,'and turned his back on me." (pg.57) It was therefore his quest within the jungle that finally got to his mind. He became obsessed with death, and shot people just for the sake of being able to do, and it was living within the jungle and savages and witnessing the way they lived that changed him. He became obsessed with acquiring ivory, "To speak plainly, he raided the country, I said." (pg.50) Kurtz didn't want anyone else to own the ivory except himself and it became his duty to make sure this happened, and it eventually led to his madness. Furthermore, at the time of Kurtz's death he spoke once more to Marlow, and it was here that I believe Kurtz realized the horror of what he had done. The greed which had taken him over and changed him, and therefore it was at the time of his death that he realized the truth of himself "He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision-he cried out twice, a cry that no more than a breath: The horror! The horror!"(pg.64) Therefore, it was Kurtz's quest within the jungle, along with his obsession and greed that led to his madness and ultimately his death.

The narrator within Surfacing is a woman not only on a quest to find her father but also on a quest to find herself. Although a strong-willed and fiercely independent woman, she is not strong enough to tell the truth about herself, which therefore provides us with the knowledge that she must also be searching for the truth, not only about her father but of herself also. Returning to her childhood home where her father has unexpectantly gone missing, the narrator searches for his whereabouts, as well as searching for herself. Through the process she makes some startling discoveries, and it is through her unstable condition that we come to see her for what she truly is. Furthermore, the narrator within this book, doesn't understand the way she is to live, "The trouble some people have being German, I thought, I have being human." (pg.130) She doesn't understand the ways of her human life, or the why's that go with it. She has trouble understanding how Anna stays married, or how Joe is able to love her. Basically, she has trouble fitting into human society and feeling accepted. It is through these characteristics of the narrator that we are able to see her as the archetype of a wanderer. (Pearsons, The Hero Within) With distrust for orthodox solutions through her dislike for the way people live, and her sometimes overwhelming sense of aloneness we see her as a wanderer. Although, she knows she doesn't fit in, and is alienated from most people, she seems to accept this. Therefore, it is through this realization that she comes to a truth about herself. She believes that she fits in more with the wilderness within our world. She has always understood and been compassionate to their way of living. I believe in a way that she always felt she belonged with them. She was even bothered by the killing of a fish, "One of its eyes is bulging out and I feel a little sick, it's because I've killed something, made it dead." (pg.65) Therefore, the narrator, although mad is still coherent enough to understand what is going on in the world, and she comes to a realization through this that she doesn't want to be human anymore. She dislikes the society she lives in, and wishes to change her life style. It is through the discovery of her dead father that she reaches this decision. She leaves her friends, and stays on the island alone, which again shows her as a wanderer. She chose to live this life alone and will now remain alone now matter what. (Pearsons, The Hero Within) Abandoning her clothing, as well as staying out of the cabin and eating just as an animal would, she believes herself to be living the life of one; "I unfasten the window and go out; at once the fear leaves me like a hand lifting from my throat. There must be rules: places I'm permitted to be, other places I'm not. I'll have to listen carefully, if I trust them they will tell me what is allowed." (pg.175-176) A turning point within in this book is when the narrator is diving for her father's pictures. The water she is diving in is a symbol of her unconscious, and therefore it is through this, which is also symbolic of the title Surfacing, as she is surfacing that she comes to a self-realization of what she wants to do. It from here on in that she begins to change at first in little ways and then they become more and more obvious. The narrator has been reluctant to sleep with Joe, as she knows that there is a good chance she will become pregnant, but then she decides that she wants Joe to impregnate her. She wants to raise a child in the wilderness, and to show him/her the beauty of the life in the wild, and the peace:

This time I will do it by myself, squatting, on old newspapers in a corner alone; or on leaves, dry leaves, a heap of them, that's cleaner. The baby will slip out easily as an egg, a kitten, and I'll lick it off and bite the cord, the blood returning to the ground where it belongs; the moon will be full, pulling. In the morning I will be able to see it: it will be covered with shining fur, a god, I will never teach it any words. (pg.162)

We see here the narrator's madness taking hold. She is now so taken with becoming an animal, living in the wild that she is purposely getting pregnant so she will be able to raise a baby in the wild alongside her. However, to her this unborn child isn't even a baby, but just an 'it.' Therefore, it is throughout the entire novel that we notice the narrator's subtle changes. Her desire to live amongst the wilderness and animals becomes more transparent as her madness deepens. Therefore, it is throughout the narrator's search for her father that we realize she is actually searching for herself, and it is throughout this search that she realizes where she actually belongs.

The narrator within Surfacing is forced to go on a quest through her madness. She realizes that with all the questions she has within her mind that she must search for the answers. However, it is her madness that is asking these questions, and which in turn forces her on the quest for her father as well as the truth about herself. She provides us with a huge persona within this novel. She provides herself with a string of lies that she would like her life to be, and would like us to see her as. "It was good at first but he changed after I married him, he married me, we committed the paper act. I still don't see why signing a name should make any difference but he began to expect things, he wanted to be pleased. We should have kept sleeping together and left it at that." (pg.40) She wants us to believe that she was married and used, but then had to go through divorce. She lies to herself and therefore I believe that it is the narrator's madness that in fact leads to her quest. She has made up a fake life for herself, which does not exist at all. Furthermore, it is through this lying to herself and others that has alienated her. She has no close friends, but yet believes Anna to be a best friend, but they have only known each other for two months; "She's my best friend, my best woman friend; I've known her two months." (pg.10) The narrator therefore allows no one to become close to her, and even is against Joe's love for her. She knows she doesn't love him and is incapable of love. Furthermore, I believe the narrator to be unfeeling, as she doesn't know how to love or what it is to love. "She hates men, David said lightly. Either that or she wants to be one. Right? A ring of eyes, tribunal; in a minute they would join hands and dance around me, and after that the rope and the pyre cure for heresy." (pg.154) Even having all her supposedly best friends gang up against her doesn't affect her in the least. This could be due to the abortion she had. While sleeping with a married man she became pregnant, and her partner didn't even have the decency to show up while she went through with the abortion. Anyone who had an abortion would be deeply affected by it, possibly for life:

After the first I didn't ever want to have another child, it was too much to go through for nothing, they shut you into a hospital, they shave the hair off you and tie your hands down and they don't let you see, they don't want you to understand, they want you to believe it's their power, not yours. They stick needles into you so you won't hear anything, you might as well be a dead pig, your legs are up in a metal frame, they bend over you, technicians, mechanics, butchers, students clumsy or sniggering practicing on your body, they take the baby out with a fork like a pickle out of a pickle jar. After that they fill your veins up with red plastic, I saw it running down through the tube. I won't let them do that to me ever again. (pg.80)

The narrator is obviously traumatized by this abortion, so much in fact that she makes up the lie about her marriage and then divorce. She wants people to understand that she had a normal life and went through the struggles that others did. Therefore, I believe that the narrator's quest within surfacing was a result of her madness, and it was in fact her madness that drove her to begin her quest.

In conclusion, madness within these two novels is used not only to show us how much a person can change, but how it can force someone to do things so unlike them. Not only does madness change a person along the quest, but it can also force a person on a quest, and all of this depends on the circumstances surrounding it, as I've outlined within Surfacing and Heart of Darkness.