“They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force—nothing to boast of, w

hen you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakne
ss of others. They grabbed what they could get for the sake of what was to be go
t. It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and me
n going at it blind—as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness. The conques
t of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a diff
erent complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing
when you look into it too much.” (Condrad, 69)

The Horror! : Colonialism in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness

In Heart of Darkness, the author, Joseph Conrad explores the nature of coloniali
sm. He reveals the horrors of colonialism and is cynical of the entire process.
He uses several symbolic characters to accomplish this. The main one being the s
hadowy and elusive Kurtz, who represents all of Europe: “All Europe contributed to
the making of Kurtz” (Conrad 127). Joseph Conrad shows that the very nature of co
lonialism has not changed much from Roman times to his day, except that the tool
s and weapons used have become more sophisticated. The main purpose and the resu
lts have stayed the same. Conrad illuminates the secret evils of colonialism and
the Europeans capitalist approach through Marlow’s journey up the Congo.
Joseph Conrad shows that one of the purposes of colonialism is the suppression o
f the Native’s beliefs and traditional way of life. Conrad begins with a focus on
what the Company overtly tells the public: They are going into the Congo to civi
lize the Natives. The Europeans, on face level, seek to convert the inhabitants
of the Congo region to the European way of life. Marlow’s aunt believes as much wh
en she states that he will participate in, “weaning those ignorant millions from t
heir horrid ways” (Conrad 77). Marlow’s aunt sees the traditional ways of life of th
e Natives as “horrid.” She believes that the European system is the only system that
should be followed. The Europeans enlist the help of the Natives in procuring i
vory, and the Natives seeing a more lucrative opportunity, abandon their village
s to go to work for the Europeans and in the process, change their way of life.
Specifically, Marlow states that he “passed through several abandoned villages” (Con
rad 87) and that his foreman was a “boiler-maker by trade” (Conrad 99) showing that
the Natives have given up on their former way of life to pursue a life that they
assume will be better with the Europeans. As Marlow journeys up the river and h
ears the cries of the Natives coming from behind a wall of thick foliage, he was
a “suspicion” that they are “inhuman” (Conrad 108). Kurtz also believes that the Native
s are in need of being humanized, improved, and instructed in the European way o
f life. The Europeans believe that the Natives are beneath them and in need of b
eing cultured.
Despite the high and noble aspiration of civilizing the Natives, Conrad reveals
that after the Natives have abandoned everything to follow the Europeans, the tr
ue face of colonialism is revealed. Joseph Conrad explains that colonialism is b
rutal and savage process. The Natives are lulled into a false sense of security
and then become slaves of the European colonizers. To the Europeans, the Natives
are valuable, if they are productive and supplying ivory and other goods to the
Europeans.
“Black shapes crouched, lay, sat between the trees, leaning against the trunks, cl
inging to the earth, half coming out, half effaced within the dim light, in all
the attitudes of pain, abandonment, and despair. . . . The work was going on. Th
e work! And this was the place where some of the helpers had withdrawn to die. T
hey were dying slowly—it was very clear… black shadows of disease and starvation, ly
ing confusedly in the greenish gloom. Brought from all the recesses of the coast
in all the legality of time contracts, lost in uncongenial surroundings, fed on
unfamiliar food, they sickened, became inefficient, and were then allowed to cr
awl away and rest” (Conrad 83).
The Europeans do not care about the health and working conditions of the Natives
as long as they are productive. This vivid observation by Marlow as he enters t
he grove of death illustrates just how cruel the colonizers are with respect to
what happens when the Natives are no longer able to work. They are left to fend
for themselves and slowly waste away, starving, unable to find food to eat. The
populace is beaten and hanged simply to serve as an object lesson to others arou
nd them. When a fire burns down a storehouse full of goods a Native is beaten be
cause “They said he caused the fire in some way” (Conrad 92). Later, the Manager rem
arks that by punishing the Native, regardless of if he had anything to do with t
he fire was “the only way” to “prevent all conflagrations for the future” (Conrad 95). T
he Europeans who have traveled to Africa to humanize the Natives treat the nativ
es severely and inhumanly.
Not only do the Europeans show cruelty and brutality towards the Natives, but it
is also shown in the form of greed towards each other. The Europeans are only i
nterested in advancing within the company, making the most money and shipping th
e most ivory for their own profit. Marlow states,
“They beguiled the time by backbiting and intriguing against each other in a fooli
sh kind of way. There was an air of plotting about that station… The only real fee
ling was a desire to get appointed to a trading-post where ivory was to be had,
so that they could earn percentages. They intrigued and slandered and hated each
other only on that account” (Conrad 93).
Through this passage, one can see that all that mattered to the Europeans was se
lf-promotion and the making of money; the fat man saying that he had come to Afr
ica “to make money” (Conrad 87). The manager often talks of having someone hanged (o
n page 104 referring to Kurtz and later on page 144-145 with the Russian) so tha
t he will have no competition and able to advance his career. All that is import
ant to him is the acquisition of money and power. To the Europeans it is imperat
ive that they attain wealth, power and prestige. They simply care about what wor
ks for them and the betterment of their positions.
Consequently, the brutality and savagery of colonialism and the Europeans causes
the Natives to fear the colonizers, and the Europeans use this fear to their ad
vantage to get what they want. Through the actions of the Europeans, the Natives
are made fearful and in order to protect their lives and the lives of their fam
ilies they submit to the will of the foreigners. “What can you expect? …He came at t
hem with thunder and lightning, you know—and they had never seen anything like it—an
d very terrible” (Conrad 135). Here Kurtz had gone to the Natives with weapons and
frightened them so much so that they worshipped him as a deity and brought him
as much ivory as he desired. Another example involves Kurtz and the Russian: “He d
eclared that he would shoot me unless I gave him the ivory and then cleared out
of the country, because he could do so, and had a fancy for it, and there was no
thing preventing him form killing whom he jolly well pleased. And it was true to
o. I gave him the ivory” (Conrad 136). Out of fear for his own life, the Russian a
cquiesced to Kurtz’s demands for the ivory and gave him what the wanted. The pilgr
ims and other Europeans Marlow encounters always have their rifles in hand and a
t the ready and do not hesitate to pull the trigger if they believe that it will
frighten the Natives. Even as Marlow enters Africa he observes that a French wa
rship was firing into the dense jungle for no obvious reason except for frighten
ing the natives and that the steamer upon which he is a passenger stops at every
port for “the sole purpose of landing soldiers” (Conrad 78). Conrad shows that colo
nialism operates primarily on a shock and awe mentality to get what they need.
Finally, Conrad explores the true purpose of colonialism. Colonialism is really
about obtaining all of the natural resources of the land for profit and in the p
rocess, lay waste to the country. The Europeans are far more interested in ivory
that in civilizing the Natives. They would rather obtain the most ivory through
whatever means necessary for their advancement within the company. The European
s destroy the land so they can obtain every valuable object out of the ground.
“Their talk, however, was the talk of sordid buccaneers: it was reckless without h
ardihood, greedy without audacity, and cruel without courage; there was not an a
tom of foresight or of serious intention in the whole batch of them, and they di
d not seem aware these things are wanted for the work of the world. To tear trea
sure out of the bowels of the land was their desire, with no more moral purpose
at the back of it than there is in burglars breaking into a safe” (Conrad 107).
Marlow observes that the procurement of ivory, the greed of the Europeans, is th
e purpose of colonialism. Kurtz, the embodiment of Europe, states: “My ivory. . .
.My Intended, my ivory, my station, my river, my—’ everything belonged to him” (Conrad
127) and “Save me! —Save the ivory, you mean. Don’t tell me. Save ME!” (Conrad 143). On
e can perceive that colonialism is really about the acquisition of land and reso
urces for the European cause. Ivory and other raw material and the procurement o
f more land are the real reasons for colonialism and to the Europeans nothing el
se is of importance.
In Heart of Darkness, the author, Joseph Conrad, is disdainful of colonialism an
d seeks to educate a naïve and blinded society to the true nature and horrors of c
olonialism. Conrad reveals that colonialism is a brutal and savage process that
seeks to eliminate all dissenting beliefs, subjugate a people and has many oppos
ing countries and individuals all vying for more power, prestige and wealth. Con
rad reveals that colonialism is simply a brutal competition for dominance and co
ntrol in a foreign land where the only thing that matters is getting to the top
regardless of how many bodies have to be dumped by the wayside. Through Marlow’s j
ourney up the Congo and into the heart of darkness, the horrifying tools of colo
nialism are laid bare and the true purpose of colonialism and the European capit
alist approach is exposed.