In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Kurtz can be seen as something of a tragic hero. It's suggested that his original intentions were relatively honorable, and so his eventual decline into darkness and subsequent demise can be seen as tragic. Usually, a tragic hero is a person of the nobility, such as a king, who makes a fatal error and/or who possesses a personal flaw that leads to a downfall. Often, a tragic hero...
In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Kurtz can be seen as something of a tragic hero. It's suggested that his original intentions were relatively honorable, and so his eventual decline into darkness and subsequent demise can be seen as tragic. Usually, a tragic hero is a person of the nobility, such as a king, who makes a fatal error and/or who possesses a personal flaw that leads to a downfall. Often, a tragic hero possesses excessive pride that leads him to ignore warning signs or to make avoidable mistakes.
Let's take a look at how Kurtz fulfills these requirements. He definitely seems to be excessively proud, as he initially envisions himself as an idealistic savior, and then, once he begins to decline, as an actual god. This pride is certainly a personal flaw, and it certainly leads to his death (also known as his downfall). Also, while Kurtz is not a noble as such, he is a prominent and influential member of society, and so he can be seen as a kind of modern equivalent of nobility.
Finally, since you asked about it, here's a final word on Kurtz' personal talents: while Kurtz' personal talents probably helped him gain his influential role in society, they don't necessarily fit in with the classic characteristics of a tragic hero, so I wouldn't focus on that aspect of his personality too much.
All in all, it would appear that the intense, flawed personal pride and his subsequent death are some of the most important factors contributing to Kurtz' status as a tragic hero, as they most closely resemble the most commonly accepted tragic hero criteria.
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