Heart of Darkness

Since its publication in 1899, Joseph Conrad?s Heart of Darkness has undergone a great deal of controversy. Some have found the novel a great masterpiece of Western literature, while others take offense to its contents. One of the most controversial themes of the novel is that of racial degradation. Throughout Heart of Darkness we see a great deal of racism, and I believe this is due to him trying to point out the racism in society. In the novel, Conrad was trying to call attention to the problem of racism through his depiction of racial degradation of the African natives. Conrad was subject to racial tendencies due to the time period, but it is obvious through his actions and feelings of the character Marlow that his overall purpose of the racial degradation was to show society the unfair treatment colonization caused on the African Natives.

At the beginning of Heart of Darkness lies the first sign that Marlow has compassion for the natives. In describing his journey into the African Congo to some fellow crew members on the Nelle, Marlow says, ?The conquest of the earth, which

mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves

. . .

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He sees the natives as human beings as opposed to small obstacles in the way of colonization. He sees these suffering people and it is astonishes him. , is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much? (1961). The colonists came into Africa and drove the Natives over the edge. ? When speaking of a camp of natives, the man calls them ?enemies? (1961). He goes

on to say, ?While I stood horror-struck, one of these creatures rose to his hands and knees and went off on all fours to the river to drink? (1969). In Marlow?s detailed description, it is obvious that he feels sorry for these men.

Obviously, his personal description lacks the racial slurs of Conrad?s time. The colonists pushed them to the point where their lives were meaningless, like savages living for nothing. The question he poses shows that he doesn?t completely understand the African people. Conrad writes, ?They walked erect and slow?I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had a collar on his neck and all were connected together with a chain?they passed me with that deathlike indifference of unhappy savages? (1968). He goes on to describe them shouting, singing and sweating. By expressing his feeling through Marlow, Conrad is voicing his disapproval of racial degradation. He calls them ?chaps,? as he did to his friends and co-workers that he referred to as chaps earlier. He writes, ?They had faces like grotesque masks- these chaps; but they had bone, muscle, a wild vanity, an intense energy of movement that was as natural and true as the surf along the coast?They were a great comfort to look at? (1966).

Approximate Word count = 1205
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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