Kurtz takes everything in. He takes his life, and puts it all out on the table. Kurtz's last words are his way of teaching Marlow the essence of a name. A name is not merely a label at all. However, unlike the Europeans who judge based on already existing principles which they have acquired, Kurtz taught Marlow to look inside of himself and to judge based on his own morals. This is the lesson that Marlow had learned. Objective standards alone will not lead one to recognize the reality in something. One can not depend only on another's principles to find his reality in something. This judgment must be from one's own internal strengths. That is why Marlow says, "for good or evil, mine is the speech that can not be silenced" (Conrad 797). As Kurtz has taught Marlow with his own judgment, a judgment of truth overpowers morality. Sometimes individual morals are not always correct, but are just personal beliefs. To find one's own reality, that person must not rely on other people's morals and people's principles; he must evaluate his own life. What Kurtz did is that he showed that regardless of whether the truth is good or bad, each person must face up to their own reality. He must face up to his own actions even when the conclusion is "the horror" and by doing so, he will find his true reality. On his voyage, Marlow notices at one of the stations, a picture that Kurtz had drawn when he was there. It is a sketch on a panel representing a woman draped and blindfolded, carrying a lighted torch. Marlow didn't really know what it meant. However, this was a perfect representation of Kurtz himself. Firstly, the background was black and totally dark. This was something similar to Kurtz because his life is full of darkness. He kills, he steals, and he is worshipped as a god. Kurtz cannot be without blackness and survive. Eventually Marlow realizes that Kurtz's picture was in essence, a self-portrait. The same thing whi...
