When we think of imperialism, all seven deadly sins pop up. Arundhati Roy once said, “Debating imperialism is a bit like debating the pros and cons of rape. What can we say? That we really miss it?”. Just like slavery and genocides, imperialism was not the brightest accomplishment in history. Unlike most novellas that focus on the destruction of the attacked, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness puts more light on the damage of the white European colonizers’ vitality than the physical destruction unleashed on the African natives. He places the Africans as a mere backdrop, props to illustrate his vision. Conrad’s critique of the effect of imperialization reveals the irony and the hollowness of the European civilization.
Conrad blames the civilization
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As Marlow meets him, he concludes the man has tore down his restraints. Even though Kurtz is the only one who sees truth, ironically, he continues to let his inner id run loose. Conrad makes Kurtz the most ironic and hollow character. While the Manager and Brickmaker yearn for more for status, Kurtz has an insane plan. He craved to be a god. Instead of pursuit, he raids the nearby tribes with violence and fear. He suppresses the native Africans and betrays his Intended. In a discourse between the Manager and himself, Kurtz claims he cares more about his ivory than Kurtz’s well being. Even though he values his life over ivory, just like the Manager, Kurtz has gone very far lengths for ivory. The Russian explains how he was threatened to be killed as “He declared he would shoot me … because he could do so, and had a fancy for it, and there was nothing on earth to prevent him killing whom he jolly well pleased.” by the orders of Kurtz over a small quantity of ivory (Conrad 53). His comment illustrates Kurtz as a man on a high pedestal with great ideals, just like how the Europeans perceive imperialism as a noble practice. Kurtz symbolizes what every white man becomes when they leave the European