Is the Quest for Knowledge a Destructive Endeavor - Essay Example

Is the quest for knowledge a destructive endeavor Quest for knowledge is the force that drives humans to experiment with unknown, and also try to understand new and unexplored areas in life which may put them to success or failure. Pursuit of knowledge is at the heart of Joseph Conrad while presenting his short, but great, novel, "The Heart of Darkness" (Conrad 2000). It reveals the rise and fall of a learned and civilized man Mr. Kurtz, through Mr. Marlow's anecdotal narration. Mr. Kurtz was presented in the story as a well learned, talented artist, fond of reciting poetry, and a capable company agent, successful in extracting ivory from dark Africa, who lost his civility and senses at the end of his life. The story is about the men's inner confusion when faced with compelling situations, cruelty towards other humans, and what they become after leaving civilization and humanitarian values. In the end Mr. Kurtz, a man with quest for knowledge ended up insane and worthless to his company, shows the paradox underlying Conrad's intention to question the purpose of his mission. Whether quest for knowledge is a destructive endeavor or not, main question that may arise in the story of "Heart of Darkness," is clearly emphasized through large number of resources by Conrad. We all know that quest for knowledge is not a waste of time, as knowledge could be applied to life both in learning about self and the world, and it is a way to make life productive and eventful. The "Heart of Darkness" carries story within the story, of which "the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel but outside, enveloping the tale" (Conrad 2000. p.18). It gives a clear picture on the depth of knowledge Conrad has and forces the readers to search more and more sources to enrich their knowledge. "The basic narrative structure of Heart of Darkness is a frame-tale with inset stories, an experiment with 'oblique narration', a tale within a tale" (p.xxv). For any reader who is reading it for the first time, it will not be possible to understand the message or inner meaning of the novel completely. Subsequent reading will reveal that much of the meaning in "Heart of Darkness" is found in the periphery of the book, and not in the centre of the book or the heart of Africa. Heart of Darkness is a good example to cite the downfall of morality and withering away of a civilized man, Mr. Kurtz in the African Congo. Pursuit of knowledge is presented through the anecdotal narration of Mr. Marlow, a seaman. He begins his story sitting cross legged, resembling a "Buddha preaching", and ends it sitting 'indistinct and silent," "in the pose of a meditating Buddha" (ibid p.16,123). Mr. Marlow described as sitting "like a meditating Buddha' reveals he has achieved some sort of enlightenment. It symbolizes the preaching of an enlightened person and how he is going to deliver knowledge to his attentive disciples like the sermons of Lord Buddha. By following the words of Marlow, and the narrative style adopted by Conrad it is doubtful whether the ultimate goal of imparting knowledge was achieved or not. As the narrator is not maintaining continuity to his narration, and his audience is also inattentive, proves this symbolism failed to deliver any purpose. Another incidence that link to an effort to gather scientific knowledge comes from Marlow's visit to a doctor before his departure to African Congo and what transpired between them. It indicates another incidence of thirst for knowledge and its ultimate outcome. For Marlow's enquiry about the investigations carried out by the doctor and the reply he receives "this is my share in the advantages my country shall reap from the possession of such a magnificent dependency" has not been effectively established anywhere in the novel. To his further question, whether the doctor also measures the crania of those returning, the reply was he never sees them and "moreover the changes take place inside." It indirectly points out that the navigators to Africa are experimental pieces and majority lost their senses as changes "takes place inside." Though it hints to psychological changes that may come to the sailors it failed to serve any purpose in advancement of scientific knowledge. Mr. Kurtz is described as a learned man, who is a good painter, a poet, a successful ivory trader, and also good leader. From the description of Company's chief accountant Kurtz was the "best agent, best obtainer of ivory, and a very remarkable person" (ibid). An element of poetic talent in Kurtz is brought out through the parting words of Russian "harlequin" saying "Ah! I'll never meet such a man again. You out to have heard him recite poetry-his own too it was, he told me. Poetry!" (ibid p.91-93). The artistic triads of poetry, painting and music, come to the fore from the narration of Kurtz's painting "representing a women draped and blindfolded carrying alighted torch. The background was sombre-almost black. The movement of the woman was stately, and the effect of the torchlight on the face was sinister." (ibid). It implies blindfolded Astraea moving into the darkness with a torch to illuminate her own blindness rather than spreading the light. Colonization of Africa was termed as an effort to enlighten the "uncivilized" and bring them up with western civilization. (p.135). This picture, on the contrary, depicts the failure of the West to civilize the Africans. The story is a reflection of man's inner conflict in the pursuit of knowledge, and Conrad uses both knowledge and physical distance of language to create difference between civilized West and the African Congo. The language of the ship and its power is unknown to the natives, so they are frightened of the sound of its whistle and have no way to respond. In a sense "language has failed Kurtz, the great voice who once mastered language, who once wrote poetry, pulled massive crowds with his oratorical skill at last found it difficult to express his ideas and rather breathed his last by uttering the words "The horror! The Horror!" Kurtz went to the Congo with the intention of preparing a report on conditions of life in Africa and how to civilize the native Blacks, but the darkness absorbed and silenced him. As in Heart of Darkness, Conrad tackles the issue of the role of language, its capacity to serve as a refuge, to evade and alter as well as to disclose truth in Lord Jim. Conrad's conviction of the inherent validity of the "quest for knowledge and meaning is once again attested to, by the existence of the novel, consisting of Marlow's oral narrative and his final attempt to reconstruct Jim's downfall" (Lord 1998). In the end, Mr. Kurtz, a 'universal genius' who could 'electrify masses,' entrusted with preparing a report on the "Suppression of Savage Customs" breathed his last whispering incomprehensible words "The Horror! The Horror!" captivates the readers to the sad end of a vociferous European. (Conrad 2000. p.117-118). Marlow feels 'his (Kurtz's) stare that could not see the flame of the candle, but was wide enough to embrace the whole universe piercing enough to penetrate all the hearts that beat in the darkness. He had summed up-he had judged" (Conrad 2000. p.113). It is a clear depiction to the sad end of a capable person, who is deprived of words to express his feelings at the ultimate voyage from darkness and back to his final civilized domain. It is worth noting that "All Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz" who has almost completely lost his bearings (p. 41).The company that chartered a steamer and enrolled Mr. Marlow as its captain ultimately "given up the station, Mr. Kurtz was dead, the station had been burnt." Mr. Kurtz, the civilized and successful trader of ivory, has been lost to the elements of his surrounding, as he gave up his Western voice to the silence of Congo. For Kurtz, the acquisition of knowledge also turned to ultimate 'Horror'! Conrad uses a large number of resources though monologues and long descriptions in Heart of Darkness, thus, it makes the reader to get lost in the stream of imagination. The same happened with Marlow during the trip to Congo in search of Kurtz. He started developing his knowledge about the functioning of the company, the river route to African Congo, the nature around him, and the people. Marlow's finding of Towson's "An Inquiry into some Points of Seamanship" in the abandoned dwelling, about fifty miles below the Inner Station with marginal notes, and his comments "luminous with another than a professional light " clearly throws light on his interest in learning and finding out something informative in his journey to a darkest part of the world(ibid p.64). But he failed either to save Kurtz, a very resourceful person, or to acquire knowledge from this experienced man. It proves that any quest for knowledge is reflective and Heart of Darkness" indicates this intended philosophy or feedback nature of any study. Works Cited Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness with The Congo Diary. Hampson, Robert. London: Penguin. 2000. Lord, Ursula. Solitude versus solidarity in the Novels of Joseph Conrad: Political and Epistemological Implications of Narrative Innovation. London: McGill-Queen's Press.1998. Read More