Heart of Darkness - Analysis

When Marlow arrives at the station to retrieve Kurtz, he sees what appears to be a broken fence with wooden balls on the tops of each post. At this point in the story Marlow is on the verge of becoming like Kurtz and must decide whether or not to except the same fate as he. While looking through his binoculars he finds out that what is atop each pole it a native's head. The sight makes Marlow lower his binoculars, but he is not quite appalled by sight. His reaction towards seeing the severed heads shows how close he is to the evil inside himself. When he looks away, it as if he is taken into the distance again and away from Kurtz and his darkness. He is now rejecting the evil because he saw what had previously been unclear to him about Kurtz and the heart of darkness. When he is brought face to face with the images of darkness, he chooses to take a step back from them and not end up like Kurtz.