What Are The Negative Effects Of Imperialism

Joseph Conrad's book, Heart of Darkness, is a book that has been written with a lot of hidden meaning in it. Chinua Achebe has claimed that Heart of Darkness is an "offensive and deplorable book", that reflects the imperialism against Africa. However, Conrad's view is quite the opposite of what Achebe says Conrad's views are. Through his writing in Heart of Darkness, Conrad is trying to convey to his readers that Imperialism is immoral and degrading. Conrad uses symbolic meaning in his characters to help prove his point to his readers. According to Merriam – Webster Dictionary, imperialism is defined as, “a policy or practice by which a country increases its power by gaining control over other areas of the world.” Imperialism is an accurate
Marlow symbolizes the postive things that came from a realization that Imperialism was not necesscarily beneficial to the African people. In the book, Marlow relized the evil that Imperialism has caused and sees the negative effects that it has on Africa. At that moment Marlow decides imperialism is unnecessary. When Marlow states, "...I had got a heavenly mission to civilize you," he expresses his genuine intentions to help the Africans to progress and advance. In addition to his realization of the negative effects of Imperialism, when he says, "I was an impostor," Marlow has recognized the fact that he is an invader into a foreign land, and he wants to do what he can to fix the problems that have been
The terminal illness that Kurtz has can be seen as symbolic of the eventual death of imperialism, due to the inability of imperialism to adapt and to respect the culture and people of the country they invaded. Kurtz's oil painting of a blindfolded woman carrying a lighted torch has a special significance. It is a symbol of the blind and foolish ivory company as it forged its way into the jungle and tried to enlighten the natives. However, they do not realize the effect they have on Africa. Most importantly, the painting shows Kurtz's understanding of his role and position in the