Marlow's Dark LieIn the novel Heart of Darkness, written by Joseph Conrad, Marlow lies to Kurtz's fiancée at the end of the story when she asks him to repeat his last words to which he replies that his last word was his name. Kurtz's bride, also called Destiny, was comforted by his response and wept in triumph; however, she believed it was an illusion because she never knew what Kurtz had become in Africa. The author uses character analysis, dark language and imagery to express Marlow's pity for a single glimmer of light in the Addressee's house of sorrow by lying to him about Kurtz's last words before his death. Conrad ends the story by flatly contradicting Marlow's personality. demonstrate the two extremes of human nature. Aboard the Nellie, Marlow tells his audience that he hates lies because they “revolt” him (Conrad 36). However, at the end of the novel, Marlow accepts the lie as salvation when he lies to the Addressee about Kurtz's last words because the truth would have broken his heart. Marlow judges the situation and realizes that it is better to lie to those with desperate intentions than to tell the truth. Furthermore, Marlow justifies his lie by mentioning that it “would have been too dark – too dark altogether” to tell the Addressee the true nature of Kurtz's death (Conrad 101). This proves that Marlow struggled in the area of ​​human values ​​because he preferred fate to allow him to tell the truth because he hates lies. His sympathy for Destiny blinds him and allows his feelings to obscure his dedication to the truth. Conrad's characterization of Marlow presents the two extremes that can exist within humankind and shows that both are reality after all. Conrad uses a dark ima...... in the middle of a paper ....... This shows that when Marlow gives the papers of the future Kurtz and establishes some of the burden that he experienced with Kurtz in Africa by lying to him. Marlow's strategy to justify himself is to do justice to Kurtz by lying to the Receiver, whose soul is pure as crystal. At the beginning of the story, Marlow says that lies have the flavor of death, but at the end of the story, he says the opposite regarding his lie. Overall, Conrad portrays Marlow's character in a contradictory manner to appease the Addressee's desire to keep Kurtz's eloquence alive by lying to him about what he had actually said. Conrad uses Marlow's character analysis, language, and dark imagery to justify the dark lie that was intended to be told. Works Cited Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness and The Secret Agent. 1st collector's edition from the New York Public Library. New York: Doubleday, 1997. 3-102. Print