Similarly, Kurtz is worshipped by the natives in the Congo and controls them through intimidation and the power of his voice. He eventually begins to believe he is more than a mortal and wishes to stay and rule in Afghanistan, though Danny wants to take their money and run. Peachy is then given anything that he desires, causing his ego to skyrocket, something you can’t really blame him for with people calling him a god all the time.
Upon coming to the greatest temple in the land, the position of Peachy as a god is confirmed when the priests see his masonic necklace, a symbol they believe to denote his ancestry from Alexander the Great (the former, white conqueror of the land who said he would return in a different incarnate form). The locals, not knowing that he had been shielded, think he is a deity and join his growing army. During a battle in King, Peachy is struck by an arrow, but avoids any injury due to the arrow striking a bandolier under his shirt.
(Mathematics)īoth the film and movie discussed above deal with the treatment of individuals as gods. “Mo money, mo problems.” –Notorious B.I.G, Ph. Indeed, as the graph shows below, money does not decrease the amount of problems a person has, but actually increases the amount. His popularity and success whittle down his mind and lead to increased tension with other men in the ivory business, hastening his demise. His entire career of building an ivory empire is destroyed and does not benefit him one bit when he dies. He intimidates or kills anyone who gets in the way of his pursuit and loses all morals and rationality. Kurtz is driven mad while he tirelessly searches for more ivory. They are actually left worse off than they were at the start of the movie. Even though they reign over all the land they have conquered, Peachy loses all of his wealth and power when he is killed and Danny goes insane. However, this belief proves utterly futile in both stories. They both emphasize the common ideas that acquiring material possessions, gaining power, and holding a higher social status are the main goals of life. The significance of the commonality between the two works in this area cannot be overlooked. The two men risk all that they have, even their lives, simply to get rich, whereas the men in the Congo faced sickness, attacks by natives, and looming madness to gain wealth. Peachy and Danny are motivated in their endeavors by the desire to gain material wealth, much like the men in the ivory trade who are always seeking more profitable positions. “Colonialism is pretty chill.” –British dude The two former officers are merely trying to conquer the natives they find and take their gold, maybe rule them while they are at it, not exploit them for their ivory. Indeed, the poster for the movie boldly states, “Adventure in all its glory!” The film seems to skirt the negative aspects of colonialism that are brutally depicted in Conrad’s novella. Danny and Peachy see Afghanistan as a new frontier of exploration and exploitation. Though Danny and Peachy are not trying to create a colony in the traditional case, but the presence of conquering a group of people in a foreign country is still there. In both stories, Europeans conquer weaker, less technologically advanced, native people for the benefit of the Europeans. The most obvious similarity between Heart of Darkness and The Man Who Would Be King is the presence of colonialism. What Michael Caine and Sean Connery were doing before Caine became a butler to Batman and Connery became James Bond. Peachy survives to tell their tale, but nearly loses his mind due to the ordeal. They eventually conquer all of Afghanistan, but ultimately lose everything when the locals turn on them, resulting in Danny’s death. Aided by a translator that they find in their travels, the two men begin to build an army and conquer all that come in their path. Peachy and Danny (Caine and Connery, respectively) are two former British Army officers who vow to ignore drink and women until they gain success, wealth, and power. Starring Michael Caine and Sean Connery (surely the greatest duo of all time), the film takes place in Afghanistan during the British Imperial period.
His story of finding Kurtz and the consequences of his trip reminds me of the movie The Man Who Would Be King, directed by John Huston and based on a Rudyard Kipling novella of the same name. Colonialism, the search for wealth and prestige, and the treatment of some individuals as more than humans are all central themes surrounding Marlow’s journey into the Congo. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad brings up a number of ideas regarding the culture of Europe and the nature of humanity.