Heart of Darkness Group

Question:

madlack
madlack
Student
High School - 12th Grade

In "Heart of Darkness", what does the helmsman symbolize and how is he significant in the story?

Rate question:

Posted by madlack on Thursday November 13, 2008 at 3:03 PM and tagged with character, heart of darkness, helmsman, symbols.

Answers:


  1. ms-mcgregor Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    The helmsman who is responsible for steering Marlow's boat is disliked by Marlow because he would act as if he was very important in front of people but he would be very "passive when left alone". Marlow considers him a fool and he demonstrates this when the boat is attacked. He is becomes very scared and drops pole in order to get a rifle and in the process is hit by a spear.He dies and is buried when Marlow throws his body into the Congo. This mirrors the burial of Kurtz, whose body is thrown in to mud hole along the Congo. The author seems to be commenting that both characters were foolish and "dropped" their real purpose in order to grab something less important. Both end up dying because what they grasped for couldn't protect them. The rifle couldn't protect the helmsman from the spear and Kurtz' power couldn't protect him from the ravages of the jungle or his own insanity.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/darkness

    Rate answer:

    Posted by ms-mcgregor on Thursday November 13, 2008 at 3:30 PM


  2. cybil Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    In addition, the helmsman lacks restraint, a quality Marlow very much admires. The cannibals, oddly enough, do have restraint, for even when they exhaust their food supply of hippo meat and go hungry for some time, they manage to restrain themselves from eating the people on the boat. Earlier one of the cannibals had indicated they would eat any natives on the bank whom the boat had passed by had any of these people been killed. When they're actually hungry, however, this crew on the boat doesn't eat anybody. Marlow does, nevertheless, deposit the helmsman's body in the river so they won't be tempted to eat him.

    Kurtz as well lacks restraint. He "had given in to his various lusts," according to Marlow, and sunk to utter depravity. Both he and the helmsman die, as ms-mcgregor has indicated, because of their actions.

    Rate answer:

    Posted by cybil on Thursday November 13, 2008 at 6:09 PM