Joseph Conrad

The inner truth of things is hidden. For when it is revealed, it is often bitter and hard to accept. In Joseph Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, inner truth is often concealed in the horrors of the darkness and what lies on the surface are usually lies. Marlow lied to Kurtz's fiancée about Kurtz's last words. He made the right decision when he did not tell her that Kurtz had no last word for her. He rather affirmed her sentimental and mundane ideas because he thought that telling her the truth would disturb her peace of mind and contradict his earlier comments about women.

Furthermore, Marlow is a sensible and well-mannered person who does not tell the truth after seeing her mourning for Kurtz's death. That is what a gentleman would do in an occasion at which people honor and mourn for...