The Hypocrisy of Imperialism in "Heart of Darkness"

And indeed nothing is easier for a man who has, as the phrase goes, "followed the sea" with reverence and affection, than to evoke the great spirit of the past upon the lower reaches of the Thames...It had known and served all the men of whom the nation is proud, from Sir Francis Drake to Sir John Franklin, knights all, titled and untitled--the great knights-errant of the sea. (302) The unnamed narrator sits aboard a …

…However, Kurtz offers no solutions to imperialism, as he wants to be both free of society and yet also have an influence on it. Throughout "Heart of Darkness" the men that Marlow encounters and even the African setting demonstrate the cruelty and greed within imperial colonies. Marlow's own thoughts also offer insight, as he realizes the hypocrisy behind imperialism and the hollow reasons of enlightening and civilizing the natives, which Europeans use to defend colonization.