Heart of Darkness: Imperialism

Heart of Darkness abounds in several themes. It has the theme of self-restraint, of the
working of the subconscious mind, of the exploration, of barbarism and primitivism and the
theme of imperialism. Conrad's handling of white imperialism was influenced by his own visit to
Congo and his rendering of Marlows conscious and sub-conscious thoughts was also based
upon his own reactions to what he himself witnessed in Congo.
The keynote of the theme of imperialism is struck at the very outset of Marlows narration of the
ancient Roman conquest of Britain. Their conquest was robbery with violence and murder on
a large scale. Marlow says that conquest can be excused only if the conquerors perform some
constructive work in the conquered country. The white man certainly has a duty to whom he
subdues and if he fails in this duty, his government of the backward countries cannot be justified.
Power corrupts man and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The white man had failed to perform his functions in Congo. Instead of civilizing the savages,
they became exploiters. The Belgian trading companies sent their agents into the Congo for
trading purposes. The chief commodity which these Belgians found was ivory, useless for the
natives, while the white men collected ivory and sent it to Europe. Ivory dominates the thoughts
of the manger, of the brick-maker, of the several white agents whom Marlow gives the name of
faithless pilgrims. Ivory not only dominates the thoughts of Mr. Kurtz but has become his
obsession. He collects more ivory than all the other agents taken together. Ivory symbolizes the
white mans greed and their commercial mentality. The greater the ivory collected by an agent,
the greater is his achievement and the higher is the promotion which he can expect. Nowhere do
we find any service being rendered by these white men in Congo.
The sights seen by Marlow in Congo are very gloomy, depicting the misery of the natives, and
the futility of the white mans seemingly useful work. He sees a lot of naked black people
moving about like ants.
A lot of people, mostly black and naked, moved about like ants.
He sees half a dozen men chained to one another and each wearing an iron collar on his neck.
These men are criminals who have violated the laws and are being punished. Marlow feels
deeply upset at this sight.
I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had an iron
collar on his neck,
and all were connected together with a chain whose bights swung between them,
rhythmically clinking.
He sees black figures crouching under the trees, leaning against the trunks, and clinging to the
earth, dying slowly.
'They were dying slowly it was very clear.' They were not enemies, theywere not criminals,
they were nothing

earthly now - nothing but blackshadows of diseaseand starvation, lying confusedly in the
greenish gloom.
Here Marlow feels as if he has entered into the gloomy circle of some inferno. It is obvious that
the white mans indifference and his unconcern are responsible for this state of affairs.
Few other sights also indicate the hypocrisy of the white men wasting time and effort. Marlow
sees that a rock is being blasted though it does not stand in the way of the railway line being laid.
He sees some pieces of decaying machinery, a large heap of rusty rails and a boiler lying unused
in the grass. Marlow had seen a warship firing its guns into the forest aimlessly. He found a
touch of insanity in it. This waste of effort and the unused machinery offer a sharp contrast to the
starving natives.
The futility of the white mans actions becomes more evident when we meet certain employers
of the trading Company. The manager of the Central Station could inspire neither respect not
love nor fear but only uneasiness. Marlow found nothing within this man. His mind is full of fear
lest he should be superseded by Mr. Kurtz. The brick-maker is equally satirical and critical. The
brick maker is described as a papier-mch Mephistopheles for his cunning. He makes no
bricks but acts as a spy for the manager. The men, loitering around the Central Station, are idlers.
They only gossip, speak ill of one another and hatch intrigues. Conrad conveys his strong
disapproval and disapprobation of these white men most effectively.
The cannibal crew of Marlows steamer is most efficient, hard working and strong who deserve
encouragement but the way in which they are treated is disgusting. Without this crew the steamer
could not have gone ahead and yet the white bosses do not bother whether or not these men are
properly fed. The cannibal crew themselves are exercising self-restraint and are not attacking the
white men to eat their flesh. Thus the white men are totally unconcerned about the welfare on
whose labour and toil they depend.
Mr. Kurtz, who held that the white man should confer huge benefits upon the backward people,
has done nothing for the uplift of the natives. Rather, he has himself become a savage in their
company.
Where there is no check on a man, the worst of him may come out.
He failed to exercise any self-restraint, and begun to satisfy his various lusts without any limit.
Even in his prime of life he had written down the following words conveying an opposite
message:
Exterminate all the brutes.
Heart of Darkness conveys to us the deceit, robberies, arson, murder, slave-trading, and
cruelty in the Congo. There is an incident of fire, and there is the long trek during which the
natives have to carry a heavy load on their heads. The chief accountant can afford to dress
perfectly when the natives around are disease-stricken and starving. In this novel, indeed, the
brutal futility of the Belgian imperialist rule is memorably captured in image after image.

Conrad not only exposes the futility and the failing of the Belgian imperialism over the Congo
but also reminds us of British imperialism in various countries of his time. Today white
imperialism has crumbled and most of the counties have become independent. Conrad's
accusation of imperialist rule in Congo had a valuable message for both the exploiters and the
exploited.
In the business of exploration, both exploiter and exploited are corrupted.
Today this message has only a historical interest. The evil imperialist rile has ended, but other
evils have come into existence.