Imperialism in the Heart of Darkness .

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Imperialism in the Heart Of Darkness
Introduction
The essay aims to explain the concept of imperialism present in Joseph Conrad’s
1899 novel The Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad). The story is about Charles Marlow,
the lead character and his narration about the voyage to the Congo River and the
Congo Free State, which was known as the ‘heart of Africa’. In narrating the story to his
friends while voyaging in the River Thames, Marlow makes comparisons between
London and Africa.
The essay aims to argue that Conrad’s novel has an overtone of imperialism,
which is depicted through the situations and the characters as well. In doing so, the
essay will first provide a brief overview of the novel and then explain the concept of
imperialism. In addition, the essay will explain the presence of imperialism
demonstrated by the characters in the novel. Evidences from the academic field will be
used to support the argument presented in the essay.
Discussion
The novel revolves around the story of Charles Marlow and his expeditions in the
continent of Africa along with Kurtz, a man known for his great abilities. The novel

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begins with Marlow describing the day in London and the River Thames. The
description continues and includes the boat and its captain, the weather and so on. The
readers are introduced with the other four members on the boat along with the narrator
– the Lawyer, the Accountant, Marlow and the Director. When the members on the boat
begin to chat, Marlow narrates his experience of Africa and thus, marks the beginning of
the novels actual story. A sailor by profession, Marlow grabs a job as a captain of a
riverboat with the Company based in Belgium. During his voyage to and stay at Congo,
Marlow comes across brutality and inefficiencies in the stations run by the Company.
The natives of Congo have been compelled to work under the Company in harsh
conditions and extreme situations. While the inhabitants face cruelty and nastiness, the
settlements of the white people were surrounded by expressionless and royal jungle,
which made the settlements appear as miniature islands amid a vast darkness. Marlow
encounters Kurtz for the first time when he arrives at the Central Station to repair his
boat. He finds that Kurtz is a cunning person who goes to any extent to make profit.
While on his way to his destination, Marlow receives assistance from the native agents
who he calls “pilgrims”. “They wandered here and there with their absurd long staves in
their hands, like a lot of faithless pilgrims bewitched inside a rotten fence” (Conrad). At
the end of the story, Kurtz hands over a document to Marlow before dying containing an
articulate pamphlet on humanizing the savages.
Many instances in the story indicate imperialism and that too, of the cruelest
form. Prior to examining the situations with evidences of imperialism, it is important to
understand what imperialism means. In general, imperialism refers to the policies,
practice and advocacy of expanding powers through territorial acquisition. Imperialism

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was at its peak throughout the centuries preceding the 21st century. The 19th and 20th
century in particular, had the worst effects of imperialism (Abu-Snoubar, Tamador
Khalaf). Even today, many are obsessed with the concept and consider nonwhite
nations as inferiors. Joseph Conrad belonged to the era when the whites, especially the
English had dominance over a major part of the world. Patrick Brantlinger, makes
interesting observations about imperialism and its prominence in Conrad’s novel.
According to the author, The Heart of Darkness is an embodiment of imperialism
although the author pretended to show that he despised imperialism. “The voices that
come from the heart of darkness are almost exclusively white and male, as usual in
imperialist texts”, observes the author (Brantlinger). Chinua Achebe, one of the most
accomplished African writers, has been openly critical about the portrayal of Africa and
its people in Conrad’s novel. His essay, An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart
of Darkness outlines the racism that Conrad engaged in through the characters and
situations (Hamadi). Achebe found the novel to a demeaning piece of work where the
African people were not even given an intelligible language, let alone giving them due
respect. Imperialism has dominated the texts produced by the European writers during
the 19th and the 20th century. These texts were ridden with visualization of the non-
European countries as dark places with savages residing there. Paul Young states that
Conrad’s novel is not the only piece of art that engaged in slaughtering the African
culture; other writers too had enjoyed doing the similar thing. The author points to
Robinson Crusoe, the work of celebrated English writer Daniel Defoe where he delves
happily into showing the whites as superior to the African people (Young). Imperialism
in these works was evident clearly from the way the characters spoke and reacted to