heart of darkness and imperialism

heart of darkness and imperialism

The colonization and civilization of Africa by the powerful European countries was supposed to be an illumination of development and society for the African people. Nevertheless, these ideals were not firmly believed in, and this so called enlightment ended up being a disgrace for the Dark Continent. Many people spoke of the “sacred fire” being delivered to the colonies, and how it was supposed to illuminate the African people and guide them to civilization. Josef Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is one man’s tale of seeing the colonization of Africa, and what was truly happening there. Charlie Marlow’s journey to the stations of the ivory company through the Congo River, and into the heart of Africa opens his eyes to the brutal reality of Imperialism, and highlight how the idea of civilization has been corrupted by greed and darkness.

During the late nineteenth century Europe was overflowing with the fever of making profit in Africa, and claiming as much land and resources as possible. One of these countries was Belgium, who had claimed a great portion of the African Congo. When Marlow arrives to Brussels, he refers to it as “a city that always makes me think of a whited sepulchre” (13).   This is indeed a very accurate reference to Brussels, since a whited sepulchre is clearly an image of something that may seen as beautiful of enlightened, but beneath it are the horrors of death. This is exactly what happens in the European companies that traded, civilized and colonized Africa, something that appears to be a good purpose, but their actions bring death and misery to the African natives.

In the opening of his tale, Conrad, through Marlow, establishes his thoughts on colonialism. He says that conquerors only use brute force, "nothing to boast of" because it arises, by accident, from another's weakness. Marlow sees colonization as: "Robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind - as it is very proper for those...