Tyler Fong 2.21.13 Heart of Darkness Essay What do a whited sepulchure, a gilded metal, a false front have in common?

They are beautiful on the outside, but the outside is just a faade for the ugliness on the inside. A gilded object might be gleaming on the outside, but the inside could be a rusty iron ball. A false front might make a building look like it is 20,000 square feet, when it is only 200 square feet. A whited sepulchure is beautiful on the outside, but only masks the bones and rotting flesh on the inside. This analogy can be made to Heart of Darkness because it too is representative of an exterior that promotes Christianizing the natives, while demolishing them in the Congo. The analogy can also be applied to the characters in the novel such as Kurtz and the medic. The whited sepulchure shields the atrocities that occur within the Congo, as well as what is really inside the minds of certain characters throughout the novel. Both Kurtz and the doctor are merely pawns within a larger scheme: imperialism. Large countries are trying to tear treasure out of the bowels of the land (37), but disguising it as a mission to Christianize the natives. This is the ultimate example of the whited sepulchure because the reason for entering other less developed countries is itself a cover for the questionable activity that happens within. By saying one is trying to Christianize the land, one also implies that it is best for the area. This idea is also similar to the whited sepulchure because to the public, Christianizing the natives seems like a valiant action. To the natives, this valiant attempt is an attempt to take away the characteristics of these countries.

Because of both of these characteristics, imperialism is the perfect example of the whited sepulchure. Crucial to these actions are the people within. Two characters in particular exhibit the same idea of the whited sepulchure. The doctor is one of those very characters that exhibit the faade of a person. He takes the blood pressure and measures the head of Marlow in order to keep records on those that enter into the Congo. Of course, to measure change, one must take a measurement before and after the trip to the Congo. This would be the case of any regular or ordinary doctor, but this one says, Oh, I never see them and, moreover, the changes take place inside, you know (13) in a matter-of-fact way. The ability of the doctor to completely ignore the common sense shows that his title of doctor itself is a whited sepulchure that hides the emptiness and vacancy within his own crania. Moreover, all of his tests are just an attempt to further this faade of a proper doctor who keeps records of everyone who enters the Congo. The truth is, these records do not mean anything because no change can be recorded. Everything about the doctor is just a sham because there is nothing behind the tests or title. Here, the whited sepulchure takes on a front for emptiness, but with Kurtz, it takes on a front for craziness. There are two views of Kurtz: the people on the outer station believe he is extremely intelligent and skillful. The brickmaker of the Central Station says, he is a prodigy (30). The others dislike Kurtz, not because they know he is cruel or evil, but because he is so successful in their eyes that he is set to take their jobs. The view of Kurtz on the outside is that Kurtz is the ideal adventurer who gets the ivory

in an efficient and quick manner. Later on, when Marlow meets Kurtz, we get a glimpse into the bones so to speak of the whited sepulchure. We see the skulls on posts, the concubine, and the harsh treatment toward to the natives. The Russian, the man who has been working with Kurtz, says, You cant judge Mr. Kurtz as you would an ordinary man he wanted to shoot me too one dayI dont judge him (70). This quote reveals two layers to who Kurtz really is. It shows that Kurtz would easily resort to using force, which is contrary to the special being (30) idea of Kurtz. Also, this quote reveals how controlling Kurtz is. He threatened to kill one of his workers, but that worker does not hold a grudge or any bit of anger toward Kurtz. Kurtzs image as seen by the outside world is heightened even after his death. Marlow tells Kurtzs wife that The last word he pronounced was your name (96). Also, Marlow rips out the page in Kurtzs work that said, exterminate all the brutes and in doing so puts the final nail into the whited sepulchure to forever hide the dusty bones within. The story Heart of Darkness is merely a novel of false fronts. The people are fake, the rumors are fake, even the mission of the large countries is fake. Everything is on the inside, but it takes time to delve into what is on the inside. In this novel, the culmination of all of these describes a gleaming exterior which only covers the dirty secrets that are to be hidden away for eternity.