The Vivid Imagery

     As Marlow from the story Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, vividly describes the condition of the enslaved natives, I could not help but feel contempt for the heartless imperialists. The corruption begins at the start of the narrative when Marlow relates how the acquisition of his position in the company was completely based on the connections of his Aunt. The sole aim of the company is for profit, but it seems that their moral code goes completely out the window. In fact, the roles of the aggressors and victims are reversed in the eyes of the whites. When Marlow first arrives at the Company station, he witnesses the enslavement of the natives: "I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had an iron collar on his neck, and all were connected together with a chain whose bights swung between them" (81). The communal linking is the like the bondage of all the natives living in the region. They are all weighed down by the greed of imperialism and are connected to the plight of the white men. Although Marlow is witnessing these inhumane acts, he agrees with the situation. Marlow explains to his listeners that the natives are "criminals, and the outraged law... had come to them" (81). From Marlow's point of view, the natives deserve to be enslaved and tortured, and the chains are solely used to carry out justice and morality. At this point in the narrative, I kept asking myself, does Marlow truly believe that an entire population has committed a crime? Does he really think that this is a proper way to treat other humans? And even more importantly, he keeps categorizing the native population by saying "them" and "they." Does Marlow even consider the natives humans? And then a more chilling question arises; to what modern day travesties are we blind? When Marlow visits the "shade," he soon realizes that it is contaminated by "black shadows of disease and starvation" (83). At one point he donates a biscuit from his pocket to a boy on the brink of starvation propped up against a tree. Marlow has some sense of morality, but how will he continue to perceive the situation with the natives as the plot progresses? Will his loyalties shift?