The following is an exemplary analysis of a conceptual test question on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness: 3. The main reason Kurtz turns his back on his former existence is:
(A) his need for power
(B) his desire to be free from society’s limitations
(C) his personality flaw: lack of restraint
(D) the attractiveness of the Id
(E) his fear of what he had become
I chose answer (E) his fear of what he had become. As Kurtz gives in to his savage instinct he drifts away from the restraints of society and begins to live a life of self-loathing in which he is unable to reconcile his former moral code with his present actions. He understands he has been transformed into someone who could not re-assimilate into Western society and cannot fathom how he would act if he were to return.
The class chose answer (D) the attractiveness of the Id. In justification of this answer choice, as Kurtz recognizes the flaws that plague society, his desire to break away from society’s restraints grows until he is presented with the opportunity to escape. The setting of the jungle intensifies Kurtz’ savage instinct, to which Kurtz is drawn. According to the class, it is this luring of the Id that prevents Kurtz from returning to society.
According to this answer, Kurtz must associate giving into his Id with freedom from society’s confines. However, Kurtz does not find freedom in succumbing to his Id; rather, he is more tightly bound to society’s codes by his own guilt. The longer Kurtz stays in the jungle, the more savage he becomes, indulging in his personality flaw, which as answer (C) suggests is his lack of restraint, which manifests itself in acts such as the horrific display of decapitated heads on the stakes. The greater this flaw is magnified, the farther away from society he goes and the harder it becomes to turn back, which is why Kurtz turns his back on society. Thus, I think the correct answer is (C) his personality flaw: lack of restraint.
(B) his desire to be free from society’s limitations
(C) his personality flaw: lack of restraint
(D) the attractiveness of the Id
(E) his fear of what he had become
I chose answer (E) his fear of what he had become. As Kurtz gives in to his savage instinct he drifts away from the restraints of society and begins to live a life of self-loathing in which he is unable to reconcile his former moral code with his present actions. He understands he has been transformed into someone who could not re-assimilate into Western society and cannot fathom how he would act if he were to return.
The class chose answer (D) the attractiveness of the Id. In justification of this answer choice, as Kurtz recognizes the flaws that plague society, his desire to break away from society’s restraints grows until he is presented with the opportunity to escape. The setting of the jungle intensifies Kurtz’ savage instinct, to which Kurtz is drawn. According to the class, it is this luring of the Id that prevents Kurtz from returning to society.
According to this answer, Kurtz must associate giving into his Id with freedom from society’s confines. However, Kurtz does not find freedom in succumbing to his Id; rather, he is more tightly bound to society’s codes by his own guilt. The longer Kurtz stays in the jungle, the more savage he becomes, indulging in his personality flaw, which as answer (C) suggests is his lack of restraint, which manifests itself in acts such as the horrific display of decapitated heads on the stakes. The greater this flaw is magnified, the farther away from society he goes and the harder it becomes to turn back, which is why Kurtz turns his back on society. Thus, I think the correct answer is (C) his personality flaw: lack of restraint.
