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Before Marlow leaves for the Congo, he must undergo a physical examination. When remembering the physician's appearance and their peculiar conversation, Marlow says, "He was an unshaven little man in a thread-bare coat like a gaberdine with his feet in slippers, and I thought him a harmless fool. 'I always ask leave, in the interests of science, to measure the crania of those going out there,' he said. 'And when they come back too?' I asked. 'Oh, I never see them,' he remarked, 'and, moreover the changed take place on the inside, you know.' He smiled as if at some quiet joke" (Conrad 11). After hearing what the physician had to say, Marlow exhibits a bit of insanity by still wanting to go to the Congo. Nobody else has ever returned, yet Marlow isn't even bothered in the slightest as most would be.

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As Marlow voyages past various settlements where soldiers and custom-house clerks call home, he witnesses a man-of-war taking part in a seemingly pointless battle. He says, "There wasn't even a shed there and she was shelling the bush. It appears the French had one of their wars going on thereabouts... In the empty immensity of earth, sky, and water, there she was, incomprehensible, firing into a continent... Nothing could happen" (Conrad 14). Marlow understands the doctor's warning to remain out of the sunlight in this new land. It appears the men are undergoing a battle based solely upon the insanity induced by the interminable heat of Africa.

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After reaching the Central Station, Marlow is informed of a great accident causing the sinking of his steamboat and is directed to speak with the Manager who has been waiting. Upon describing his meeting the Manager, Marlow says, "I interrupted him by saying I had heard of Mr. Kurtz on the coast. 'Ah! So they talk of him down there,' he murmured to himself... He was, he said, 'very, very uneasy.' Certainly he fidgeted on his chair a good deal, exclaimed, 'Ah! Mr. Kurtz,' broke the stick of sealing-wax and seemed dumbfounded by the accident" (Conrad 22). Upon hearing of Mr. Kurtz's being known on the coast, the Manager exhibits great insanity by mumbling Mr. Kurtz repeatedly and even breaking the stick of sealing-wax he had been toying with. While this could partially be caused by his want to be at the top of the ivory stations, his actions indicate that there is a little more going on inside of his head.

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While relaying the story of the death of Fresleven, the old steamboat captain, Marlow says, "Then the whole population cleared into the forest expecting all kinds of calamities to happen.." (Conrad 9). This is referencing superiority the white men had over the colored men. When white colonists conquered a new land, they had a tendency to set themselves up on god-like pedestals, leaving the natives seemingly powerless. When an African murdered a white man, they expected repercussions so horrid that a whole village left their homes in seek of refuge. With white men, natives didn't feel safe, and after killing white men, natives still couldn't find the safety that they sought.

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When discussing his farewell to his aunt to his fellow shipmates, Marlow says, "It's queer how out of touch with truth women are! They live in a world of their own and there had never been anything like it and never can be" (Conrad 12). During this time period, the woman's place was known to be at the home undertaking jobs of low prestige, so when asked to help Marlow with an important task, his aunt responded enthusiastically and eagerly. Women were viewed as having idyllic perceptions of the world and needing protection from reality. Marlow believes this stereotype whole-heartedly and concludes it as a weakness of women. This reveals both the role and view of women as well of the outlook of men in a male-dominated society.

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While describing the paths that Marlow trekked on the way to the Central Station, he remembers a dead Congolese man lying on the side of the path that had probably been working for a white colonist and says, "Can't say I saw any road or any upkeep, unless the body of a middle-aged negro, with a bullet-hole in the forehead upon which I absolutely stumbled three miles farther on may be considered as a permanent improvement" (Conrad 20). This references the lack of moral treatment the native Congolese receive from the white colonists. Besides the fact that the man was probably murdered for no good reason, he did not receive a proper burial. This shows how the Africans were not seen as human beings deserving of moral or just treatment. They were simply there to be used by the colonists, like a natural resource or working animal, to their benefit only.

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As Marlow and his crew a sailing steadily down the Congo, they are whizzing past barren land and trees, barren land and more trees; it would be easy for insanity to creep up on somebody in that kind of environment. Marlow uses the reality that he found in the surrounding nature to keep him sane, however, and he explains this when he says, "There were moments when one's past came back to one, as it will sometimes when you have not a moment to spare to yourself; but it came in the shape of an unrestful and noisy dream remembered with wonder amongst the overwhelming realities of this strange world of plants and water and silence. And this stillness of life did not in the least resemble a peace. It was the stillness of an implacable force brooding over an inscrutable intention" (Conrad 34). Because he finds this bit of reality in the repetitive scenery, Marlow is able to hang on to his sanity.

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As Marlow is telling his story to the other men aboard the ship on the Thames, he gets a little ahead of himself and discloses a bit of sketchy information about the wellbeing and sanity of Mr. Kurtz. Marlow says, " But this must have been before his - let us say - nerves went wrong and caused him to preside at certain midnight dances ending with unspeakable rites which - as far as I reluctantly gathered from what I heard at various times - were offered up to him- do you understand - to Mr. Kurtz himself" (Conrad 49-50). Based upon Marlow's choice of words, one could determine that Mr. Kurtz has gone insane after all no WHITE man in his right mind would allow BLACK people to make "devilish" sacrifices in his honor.

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Once Marlow and the other men aboard the steamboat reach the shore of the Inner Station, they meet the Russian "half-caste" that they had previously heard of. Marlow makes the Russian man out to be very emotionally unstable and even slightly insane. He says, "The smiles vanished and he shook his head as if sorry for my disappointment. Then he brightened up. 'Never mind!' he cried encouragingly. 'Are we in time?' I asked. 'He is up there,' he replied with a toss of the head up the hill and becoming gloomy all of a sudden. His face was like the autumn sky, overcast one moment and bright the next" (Conrad 53). No man changes his expression and emotion as quickly as the Russian man on Kurtz's station. This leads one to question the man's sanity and ultimately determine the lack there of.

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Id is the most basic of the three parts of a personality. Based solely upon the instant gratification of getting one's ways and the frustration and anger felt if one's wants are not met instantly, id is a very selfish and primitive part of one's personality. When stopped to look at a sign and fort set up along the riverside, Marlow wanders off and finds a book. He says, "I had been dimly aware for some time of a worrying noise and when I lifted my eyes I saw the wood-pile was gone and the Manager aided by all the pilgrims was shouting at me from the riverside” (Conrad 38). Marlow chose, selfishly, to read a book rather than help the other men aboard load up wood to power the steamboat. This idea of acting selfishly and forgetting the consideration of potential consequences altogether is what makes this quote a prime example of id and a psychoanalytic lens.

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Ego is the second of the three parts of a personality to develop. It is characterized by the consideration of consequences as well as the recognition that others have needs and wants too. While sailing along the Congo, Marlow has many duties that he must do efficiently and to the best of his abilities otherwise he chances awful consequences. He states, "I had to keep guessing at the channel; I had to discern, mostly by inspiration, the signs of hidden banks; I watched for sunken stones; I was learning to chap my teeth smartly before my heart flew out when I shaved by a fluke some infernal sly old snag that would have ripped the life out of the tinpot steamboat and drowned all of the pilgrims; I had to keep a look-out for the signs of dead wood we  could cut up in the night for next day’s steaming” (Conrad 34). Marlow used the possible consequences of not keeping up with his duties to motivate him to do so to the best of his abilities. This consideration of possible consequences and compassion for others makes this quote an excellent example of ego and a psychoanalytic lens.

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Superego is the last of the three parts of a personality to develop and is the most complex. It is distinguishable by the prominence of one's morals, values, and beliefs in a decision or thought. When this part of the personality develops or matures, distinct and evident changes in one's thoughts or actions may be noticeable. In the beginning of the story, Marlow was uneasy at the sight of chained Africans being treated harshly. Now, he has developed more set-in-stone morals on the ordeal. We can see this when he says, "He squinted at the steam-gauge and at the water-gauge with an evident effort of intrepidity - and he had filed teeth too, the poor devil, and the wool of his pate shaved into queer patterns, and three ornamental scars on each of his cheeks. He ought to have been clapping his hands and stamping his feet on the bank, instead of which he was hard at work, a thrall to strange witchcraft, full of improving knowledge” (Conrad 36-7). At the beginning of the story, it was evident that Marlow’s superego was not yet completely developed as he did not have firm beliefs on the wrongful treatment of the Africans, but rather, felt slightly uneasy and uncomfortable around it. Now, later in the story, Marlow’s morals and beliefs have become stronger and more certain. He feels that the Africans should be free but does not know how to undo the wrongful actions of the other white men. Due to the presence of the superego, this quote serves as a great example of a psychoanalytic lens.

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Upon arriving at the Inner Station, Marlow begins to learn more about Kurtz's state of mind. The Russian said, "When I had a chance I begged him to try and leave while there was time; I offered to go back with him. And he would say yes - and then he would remain - go off an another ivory hunt - disappear for weeks - forget himself amongst these people - forget himself - you know" (Conrad 56). Upon hearing this information, Marlow exclaims that Kurtz is "mad". After learning this, it is clear to see that Kurtz is no longer thinking that a normal human being leading to the assumption that he has gone insane.

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After speaking to the Russian, Marlow says, "He shook hands and vanished in the night. Sometimes I ask myself whether I had ever really seen him - whether it was possible to meet such a phenomenon" (Conrad 63). Because the Russian is such a unique character, Marlow begins to question his own sanity. This brings light to the effects of being alone in the wilderness for so long has on a person. Sanity and insanity begin to mix.

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While describing Kurtz to the men aboard his ship, Marlow says, "But his soul was mad. Being along in the wilderness, it had looked within itself and, by Heavens I tell you, it had gone mad" (Conrad 66). When one is alone for a long period of time in the wilderness, they change, and in Kurtz's case, it seems that his change occurred in his sanity.