Imperialism in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness".
Since known history, humans have tried to comprehend their existence, striving to give meaning to their lives in a variety of ways. Religion, Science, Love, Conquest, these are all ways in which the human psyche attempts to comprehend a meaning for its being. Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" delves deep into the human condition to expose the inherent darkness in at least one of these ways: Conquest. Man has always been obsessed with power and the control of other humans, and Imperialism is the embodiment of this desire. Conrad recognizes the flaws and harmful effects of imperialism , and uses his novella "Heart of Darkness" to shed light on the true nature of imperialism.
"The conquest of the Earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much." At the very beginning of the novella, Conrad uses the character of Marlow to introduce the topics of conquest, colonization, and imperialism. Underlying the jocular nature of this statement (someone somewhere has a flatter nose than I?) is a strong conviction about the dark side of conquest. What gives one group of people more right to something than another? Marlow believes that nothing does.
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They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force - nothing To boast of, when you have it, since your strength just an accident arising from the weakness of others. .
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This one quote lays down Marlow's distaste for conquest and the forced colonization of any land already occupied by a weaker people. The word "accident" and the fact that Conrad suggests there is no strength, only more weakness are used by Conrad to convey a sense of pity for the "others" who are weak. This statement is meant to let the reader see that Conrad feels Imperialism is much like a "kick "em while they"re down" mentality.
