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How Does Conrad Present The Cruelty Of Colonialism

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The cruelty of colonialism also put some colonists into self-doubt about their imperialism. In the novella Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, the character Marlow and Kurtz is used to represent these self-doubts that take place. First of all, Marlow feels uncomfortable about enslaved black men in the outer station. Once seeing the dying black slaves, Marlow describes them as “nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation (…) free as air – and nearly as thin (…) which [eyes of the black slave] died out slowly.” (Conrad 19) Marlow describes these black slaves with pity; he describes how poorly treated they are by the colonists. Marlow later adds that he was terrified: “While I stood horror-stuck” (Conrad 19) Different from most other colonists,
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