Examples Of Imperialism In Heart Of Darkness

Society’s Foible: The Horrors of Imperialism
In Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness, Conrad epitomizes his very own experiences through an intense and slightly exaggerated story. Conrad creates the character Charles Marlow and has Marlow recount his expedition of the Congo River in Africa. The story follows the disturbing journey Marlow took by working for a Belgian company and quest to find a mysterious man named Kurtz, who has become power-driven and insane. Along the way, Marlow discovers the awful truth about the company he is employed by and how barbaric they treat the natives. Marlow learns how destructive and mentally corrupting the Congo River and the ivory trade can be.
Throughout the novella, the river represents something
The river also seems to be against the white men exploring it as it has a deadly jungle surrounding it and terrifying attributes, transforming it into something human-like that threatens the white men, making the river the antagonist of the novella. Traveling on the Congo River was not easy by any means. Marlow even describes it as “like traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world” (105). It was frightening and time consuming. The river had the stillness of an implacable force brooding over an inscrutable intention” (106). The struggles Marlow undergoes as he is traveling down the river to find Kurtz reflect upon the inner struggle Marlow is facing as he is not sure how to understand the situation he is in. He feels uneasy about the entire expedition, but does not quit and continues on. The Congo River is Marlow's “choice of nightmares” (154). In addition to the symbolic meaning of the Congo River, ivory severed as an important symbol in the story. Ivory is the root of the insanity
It is framed by the narration of another character that is on board the Nellie who is introduced in the beginning of the story. The narrator, Marlow and the other members he is accompanied by. Here, Marlow is the captain of the Neille and he and his men are sitting idle in the Thames River of London. Conrad immediately begins uses the symbolic usage of light and darkness as the narrator is setting the scene and describing England and Marlow. The story soon switches over to Marlow’s perspective as he begins telling his story and experience on the Congo River. Here Conrad is using what is called an impressionist method and allows the reader to experience Marlow’s feelings and sensations as he gives detail after detail from his memory. This ultimately allows the reader to take part in the process of discovering the meaning of Marlow’s story as Marlow is working out the meaning of his story as he tells it himself. Marlow interrupts and repeats himself and sometimes hesitates as he is telling his tale. He is also very wordy and digresses from the order of the events and simply tells them as he remembers them, mostly in pieces or parts. This truly gives the reader the feel of being inside Marlow’s mind and allows the reader to connection with the