A Social Criticism of Imperialism in “Heart of Darkness”

Introduction

The Heart of Darkness, penned by Joseph Conrad, is one of the strongest fictional critiques of imperialism which is also the central theme of the book. The novel is set in Congo, though the exact location remains a mystery, and talks of the politics and other psychological and metaphysical topics. It sheds light on the exploitation of the natives by the power of evil. The problem with this work of art is that people have started taking it as a sociological treaties (Hayes, p. 97). The author has been claimed the 'Ruthless racists' who has depicted colonialism in a completely negative manner through his work of fiction. On the other hand, the others have claimed him as a couragous man who has the ability to portray the reality.

Background of the Study

The basic theme of the novel Heart of Darkness is centred on Charles Marlow. Through the man's narration, the author discusses Belgian colonization and its dark sides. Through the character of Kurtz the author tells of the misuse of power. The darkness which forms the basic theme of the novel is the darkness in Africa and the darkness within Kurtz. The man kills for something as small as ivory. He makes people believe that he is the god. His crimes are horrible and shameless. The evil within him is the darkness that overpowers him and all his deeds (Kuchta, p. 159).

The natives in Congo were mistreated by the Europeans who established the Belgian colony there. These Europeans looked down upon the natives. The book provides a very comprehensive picture of Congo at the time (Hawkins, p. 286). The image of Africa that is portrayed in the novel as well as the writer's attempt to condemn colonialism on the moral grounds deserves an unbiased and altruistic critique. The history of whites has been marred by the narrative.

In the words of the author, the main idea of the novel was 'criminality of inefficiency and pure selfishness when tackling the civilizing work in Africa', and the 'subject is of our time distinctly,' though 'not topically treated' (Hawkins, p. 196).

The basic aim of the story in the novel was to highlight and criticize the colonialism in Africa and how the people of Congo are suffering as a consequence of it. The European colonization was marked by darkness. This darkness had three levels. one is the darkness which emerges from the Congo and its wilderness, the other one is the darkness of the way the Europeans or the White's would treat the natives of Congo and the third darkness is the universal darkness which is common to man (Raskin, p. 113). This is the darkness that resides within each body. The darkness which is called the evil. Every one of us has both good and evil within us. At any given point, one dominates the other (Livingston, p. 129). Some people manage to feed the good while others feed only the evil. The way ...