Imperialism is defined as a policy of extending a country’s power and influence through diplomacy or military force (“Imperialism”). In the novella, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, imperialism is a prominent component of the frame narrative. On February 5, 1885, Belgian King Leopold II established the Congo Free State by brutally seizing the African landmass. Rather than control the Congo as a colony, Leopold privately owned the region ("Belgian King Establishes Congo Free State"). Through Conrad's novel, Marlow’s retelling of his time in the Congo, it is evident that the Congo fell victim to British imperialism. In part I of the novella, Marlow describes the people rushing to the Congo to earn money and status as, “just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind—as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness. The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than us, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much” (Conrad I). In writing in such a way, Conrad reveals the utter darkness of imperialism through Marlow’s account.  

            Following the story of those rushing to the African Congo to earn their wealth, the violence and military force aspect of imperialism comes forth in Marlow’s story. At multiple points the novella, readers are exposed to the harsh and vivid truth of this; aspects of slavery, racism, murder, and torture of the African natives is told in the narrative. Scholars have argued Conrad’s assessment of imperialism through his novella for decades. Researcher Hunt Hawkins states that, “his portrayal of African culture in the story is admittedly less detailed than his description of Malaysia in his Eastern novels… while Conrad does not idealize tribal culture, he still denounces the intervention that disrupted it… Marlow feels most positive toward those Africans who have not been extensively detribalized by imperialism” (296). In a sense, the way Conrad portrays this in his novels is different than the way his main characters think about the situation.

Works Cited

“Imperialism.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperialism.

"Belgian King Establishes Congo Free State." National Geographic. 

Hawkins, Hunt. “Conrad’s Critique of Imperialism in Heart of Darkness.” PMLA, vol. 94, no. 2, 1979, pp. 286–99. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/461892.