He is glad that “real work is done there” meaning salvation, religion, culture and commerce. Conrad portrays British Imperialism in the naive character of Marlow, who is glad to see the “vast amount of red” on the Company’s map signifying the British territory. The Thames is described as ”one of the dark places on Earth (as it is a point of departure for Imperialist ships). In 1890 Conrad worked for a Belgian society in Congo, on a Congo River steamer, and the journals and notes that he wrote became the basis for Heart 0f Darkness. They gained maximum profit at minimum cost – slaves, ivory and rubber in large amounts. Under the excuse that they are going to bring the light of civilization to the degenerated African brutes, the Imperialists exploited the country for a long time. The story revolves around the life of a seaman, Marlow, who fresh from Europe goes on a journey up the Congo River to relieve Kurtz who is the most successful ivory trader working for the Belgian government. The Setting of Conrad’s novella is Congo in the late 19 th century, which was then a colony of Belgium, but Heart of Darkness can be observed as a criticism of all European Imperialist countries, especially Britain. Kurtz – chief of the station, imposed himself as a god to the natives, a spiritually degenerated man COLONIALISM/IMPERIALISM The Manager – a corrupted Imperialist, for him only economical gain is important, no matter the cost Marlow – the speaker of the frame narrative starts to question his beliefs and attitudes when in Africa Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness (1899) is an early and important example of modernist experimentation in English fiction.
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