Kurtz's Pamphlet:
In this passage, one of the most striking elements is Kurtz's assumed position of god over the native people. Marlow likens Kurtz to an 'august Benevolence' (the word Benevolence is made a proper noun, and is similar to the word God, because God may be derived from good, which is a synonym to benevolen[t]), ruling over 'an exotic immensity.' Kurtz here seems to have expounded upon the imperialist ideology of civilizing and uplifting, to the point where he has become a supreme figure above all others, as displayed through the language of his pamphlet. Additionally, the natives' reverence for Kurtz to the point where they attack to keep him with them illustrates how Kurtz's assumption of this role has been able to reach fruition in only this 'heart of darkness.' Still, Kurtz has a noble goal in mind in his original draft of the pamphlet, as shown through his belief in the Europeans' 'power for good,' but after he has become sick due to his stay in the Congo (a potential parallel to the sickness of his God complex poisoning his mind), he proclaims, 'Exterminate the brutes.' This comment seems disconnected to the rest of the pamphlet, at first glance a condemnation and decree against the natives, but the vagueness of this commandment can be interpreted differently. As a reflection of Kurtz's total absorbtion into this foreign society, the word 'brutes' may mean the Europeans (who can indeed be said to have acted brutishly), or anyone who opposes Kurtz's assumed role of God.
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