The Imperial Aspect of Heart of Darkness

Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is the tale of Charlie Marlow, a sailor whose journey is through the African Congo in search of ivory; however, the story is told on a boat at the mouth of the Thames River. The protagonist in Heart of Darkness not only tells the story of his journey through the African Congo, but also personifies the European imperial attitude at the time of the novella’s release in 1902. Conrad …

…State. Conrad is said to have exaggerated the conditions in the Congo Free State for the sake of affect, but in reality it was bad enough that it was brought to the attention of the general public. Conrad uses this affect to show the intensity of the European imperialistic attitude and to show the awful torture the people of the Congo suffered because of the white man’s desire for more new and exotic land.