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Heart Of Darkness - Lies
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Heart of Darkness - Lies
The Lies A lie is an untruth. It can be a false statement or a statement left unsaid which causes someone to be misled. In life, lies are told for many different reasons. In fiction, they thicken the plot and overall setting of the story. In Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Marlow dislikes lies and therefore only tells two, both in extraordinary circumstances. Thus, these lies show the following about Marlow: even though he has been touched by evil, he is still a good man himself. He never actually tells a lie, but lets others continue to believe what they already believe in which case helps him justify the lies. Marlow, in the middle of his story, interrupts himself to say, "You know I hate, detest, and can't bear a lie." He does not think he is better than the rest of the world. Lies simply appall and disgust him immensely. Marlow feels there is a "taint of death, and a flavor of mortality in lies." Lying makes him feel "miserable and sick, like biting something rotten would do." Since he feels this way, he would only tell a lie in the most exceptional state of affairs. The first lie was told by Marlow in extraordinary circumstances. It was told because he had a notion it would somehow be of help to Mr. Kurtz. The lie was to allow the brick maker to think he had more influence in the company than he actually had. This lie would help Kurtz in two ways. Firstly, it would help Marlow to get the rivets he needed to fix the boat, and that would provide Kurt...
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