Some inherit “darkness” lies at the center of every individual. Joseph Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness explores this through the journey of Charles Marlow, who, as he ventures into the Congo, comes to realize that to believe those of a more advanced society are above this base savagery is to tell oneself lies. The hypocrisy of imperialism is a prominent theme throughout Conrad’s novel and it is reflected in not only the thoughts of Marlow, but the pervasive ill treatment of the native Africans as well. At the beginning of The Heart of Darkness, Marlow tells his audience of how as a child he was fascinated by maps and their “white patches” which had yet to be explored and civilized and witnessed through a European scope. He was most enchanted by the largest blank space on the map -- the Congo. Marlow notes that this space has since been filled in, though he calls it a “place of darkness,” and thus the people who dwell there must be infused with this darkness as well (59-60). The natives of the Congo are immediately characterized as “savages,”
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Conrad colors the city of Brussels as a “whited sepulchre” (73). Oftentimes white is symbolic of goodness or purity, however, describing Brussels as a tomb indirectly shows the underlying darkness that affects Europe underneath the veneer of society and civility. Europe may seem far and so very separate from Africa, but there is no true difference between the two. At the end of the novel, as Marlow is approaching Europe, it is described as “the heart of an immense darkness,” leaving no one impervious (155). The hypocrisy of imperialism is prevalent throughout The Heart of Darkness. As Marlow travels along the Congo River, he begins to recognize that the native Africans are not so different from himself, and that everyone, no matter where they come from, is imbued with the same
Conrad colors the city of Brussels as a “whited sepulchre” (73). Oftentimes white is symbolic of goodness or purity, however, describing Brussels as a tomb indirectly shows the underlying darkness that affects Europe underneath the veneer of society and civility. Europe may seem far and so very separate from Africa, but there is no true difference between the two. At the end of the novel, as Marlow is approaching Europe, it is described as “the heart of an immense darkness,” leaving no one impervious (155). The hypocrisy of imperialism is prevalent throughout The Heart of Darkness. As Marlow travels along the Congo River, he begins to recognize that the native Africans are not so different from himself, and that everyone, no matter where they come from, is imbued with the same