Heart Of Darkness Colonialism

Colonialism is the illegal seizure of people and lands by stronger nations. Historically, colonialism is the practice where the stronger force is abusing their power against weaker nations, including usage of natural resources; and the expansion of beliefs, dialect, and way of life. Colonization of so called ”Black Lands” took place mostly in the nineteenth century. That was when the increasing amount of ”White” people started to take advantage of the exploration of the secrets of the jungle, simultaneously devastating the achievements of the old-fashioned communities. Those are the circumstances which Joseph Conrad presents to us in his work ”Heart of Darkness”. He describes the actions of the ”white” people on African soil through the eyes …show more content…
The mission of colonization by Europeans had nothing to do with the noble intentions and officially preached slogans. Thanks to Marlow the reader is able to experience firsthand the harsh truth about the life in Africa. From the sailor’s story we find out about the physically exhausted laborers living on the verge of famine. The corruption of officials, who try to enrich themselves by taking advantage of low cost workers from the corporations, is all present. Those official work above the law, abuse the natives and commit numerous other offenses which accounted for the obscure face of the colonialism. From the stories told to us by Marlow we know that the whole process looked like a machine which devastated everything and everyone in its way all in the name of profit. Even though the methods used by Kurtz were not optimal and healthy he was able to reach apogee of the colonization – all natives worshiped him like he was a god. That was one of the reasons why he was capable of delivering the biggest supplies of ivory to the trading company. Africa was supposed to have more benefits from the colonization but Europe took advantage of the low development of the continent and earned profits from the labor of natives. While the profits of Europeans were growing the Africans were forced to slave labor and their homes and local environment. The Belgians in ”Heart of Darkness” were described to us by Joseph Conrad as ruthless colonizers, who damaged the natural environment and economy of the country they unlawfully invaded under the excuse of untruthful slogans and motives. In the”Heart of Darkness” there is also the motive of journey. Marlow is the one on this journey; it may be seen as a cognitive journey. It verifies the protagonist’s views about the world and the