About a week ago, my church ended a series called "Heroes...broken not made." The series consisted of heroes throughout the Bible that were called upon by God to lead. Some of these people included Jonah, and Joseph. In every story, God's chosen people didn't want to be chosen. They denied God time and time again. By doing this, Jonah, and Joseph were broken down to nothing. Jonah was eaten by a giant fish and Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. Through all the hurt, disappointment, and betrayal that the men went through, they became heroes. Heroes are broken, not made.
This is exactly how I viewed Marlow throughout the story. Marlow in the end seem like the hero that saved the day for everyone. He got Kurtz, he restored the ship and he was there for Kurtz during his death. Being the hero didn't come with the glitz and glam that it's made out to be. Marlow was broken. Broken just like Jonah and Joseph. It might not have been in the same spiritual way, but still broken. Marlow felt that the world wasn't what it was supposed to be. He was also a huge cynic of his surroundings. In the end, the only way for Marlow to be the hero was to be broken. He had to feel the trials and tribulations of the world in order to make it feel right. Without this view of the world, Marlow would've just been another narrator.
That's an interesting thought. I've never really seen Marlow as the hero. I'll have to think on that a while. Interesting.
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