Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer introduces and analyzes the novel "The Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. Specifically, the writer identifies one possible theme in the novel and explains how Conrad nurtures and presents this theme in the text. The writer discusses that Conrad's novel is a scathing critique on European imperialism in Africa and the evils of this corrupt and abusive practice. The writer concludes that the reader of "The Heart of Darkness" understands just what a horrible practice imperialism was, and how it changed the face of entire continents, seemingly overnight, all in the name of greed, avarice, and political power.

From the Paper:

"Kurtz is driven to madness by the imperialistic attitudes of those around him, and his own greed for money via the ivory trade. He spends his life in the jungle, searching for ivory and coming to know the natives, who think he is a white God. He represents the very worst of imperialism, because he comes to know and understand the natives, and still he takes advantage of them. He loves their hero worship, and he trades for ivory with them, but he is still using them and leaving them with little or nothing in return, just as the Belgians leave the Congo when they have taken all they can get from the country and the people."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: Dover Publications, 1990.
• Parry, Benita. "2 The Moment and Afterlife of Heart of Darkness." Conrad in the Twenty-First Century: Contemporary Approaches and Perspectives. Ed. Carola M. Kaplan, Peter Mallios, and Andrea White. New York: Routledge, 2005. 39-53.

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