Kurtz's descent into savagery while stationed in the heart of the Congolese jungle underscores Conrad's exploration into the corruption of the human soul throughout his classic novella Heart of Darkness. Kurtz is portrayed as an enigmatic figure, who initially traveled into the Congolese jungle with admirable intentions of carrying the torch of civilization to the primitive Natives of Africa. Once Kurtz arrived in the dark jungle, he dramatically transformed into an unscrupulous, ruthless tyrant, who appeared as a god before the Natives and led violent campaigns against neighboring tribes in order to accumulate more ivory.
As Marlow reads in Kurtz's report to the International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs, Kurtz's primary goal was to portray himself as a deity and "Exterminate all the brutes!" In the heart of darkness, Kurtz regressed to his primitive, uncivilized state and his soul became corrupted in an environment without rules, regulations, or restrictions. Similarly, Marlow admits that he was experiencing the same degradation as he traveled further into the Congolese jungle and witnessed unimaginable atrocities. Kurtz's enigmatic final words can be interpreted as him acknowledging of his corrupt soul as well as a reflection of the atrocities he committed. Overall, Marlow's journey into the depths of the Congolese jungle allegorically represents a psychological journey into mankind's corrupt soul, which is reflected through Kurtz's descent into savagery and the atrocities he committed in the heart of darkness.
Along with the cruel, almost inhuman Kurtz, the men on Marlow's excursion into the Congo are corrupted by the darkness of the jungle. These men are sent partially into the jungle to "civilize" the native people that live along the river; ironically, these colonizing men become increasingly uncivilized and inhuman as they further enter the jungle. Kurtz's senseless brutality in murdering men and crushing their skulls is senseless; he, too, entered the jungle as a traditionally "civilized" man, but ultimately finds a fate as a brutally violent god-like figure.
As Kurtz dies, his final words are, "The horror! The horror!". What precisely is this horror that Kurtz is afraid of? Is it the Congo itself, the brutal colonization, Kurtz's own actions, or something else entirely? The "horror" almost certainly refers to the corrupted soul of mankind; men are easily swayed by greed, lust, jealousy, vanity, power, corruption, or a number of other vile traits. Kurtz is horrified by the imperfect and often immoral nature of men as they follow their primal impulses in a wholly non-primal world. The soul is corrupted once the veil of society is lifted; human behavior is either impulsive or learned, and as the men stray from their society, their souls become shrouded in darkness.
Conrad explores the corruption of the human soul primarily through the characterization of Kurtz. Kurtz develops megalomania during his time in the heart of the Congo, which was being pillaged by European countries like the one that produced him.
Kurtz is not subject to anyone's direct oversight, and in that vacuum, loses his way as he exploits his crew, the natives, and the African continent itself to feed his voracious appetite for autonomy, power, and ivory. He reinvents himself as a demigod to be feared and worshipped by those who don't dare to question or oppose him, and one to be admired by the ones he wins with charisma, like the Harlequin, and Charlie Marlow, to a much lesser extent.
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