Heart of Darkness vs. Inherit the Wind

This statement is a metaphor for the fact that many people are attracted to the things that can hurt them. Because of this inclination towards the "disease" they are actually inclined to die from it. In Heart of Darkness, Marlow is the character who has "a secret attraction to the disease." In this case, the "disease" would be characerized as Kurtz. This is true because of the fact that he has heard all of these horror stories about Kurtz, but throughout his time with him, he saw through these stories and realized that Kurtz was just a troubled person. Marlow actually comes to admire him and consider him a friend. In Inherit the Wind, Bertram Cates has the attraction to the disease, which is a disease of change in thought towards evolution. I believe this is considered a disease because of the fact that if Cates persued this it would sufficiently ruin his career, life in this town, and future with Rachel. It would kill any chance of having a successful life would be jeapordized by his belief in change.