Imperialism, Capitalism in Africa

Cam Collins
Maddox
Imperialism, Capitalism Essay
31 January 2010

In Africa during the nineteenth century, Imperialism and Capitalism were major themes. Wealthy economic powers from around the world came to Africa in search of productive ventures. In Heart Of Darkness the themes of imperialism and capitalism reflect the failure of industrialization, the great amount of racism in Africa, and the lustful quest for ivory as a valuable resource in the Congo.

The failure of industrialization in Africa is a recurring theme that reflects imperialistic thought in this novel. Constantly throughout Heart of Darkness, there is something wrong with Marlow's steamer. Marlow commonly tells us readers that his steamer is about to die, or is on its last breath, like in this quote, ".... the steamer seemed at her last gasp.... I caught myself listening on tiptoe for the next beat of the boat.... But we still crawled.(Conrad 57)" As judging by this and when Marlow gets infuriated about "rivets" we can see that his boat is terrible, which allows us to recognize the failure of industrialization in Africa. Also, the undersized railway truck that was flipped over missing a wheel again symbolizes the negative results of imposing European imperialists in Africa.

The theme of racism also hints to imperialism and capitalism throughout this novel. All thoughout the book Conrad gives us readers an insight to the harsh and crude treatment of Africans in the nineteenth century. For example, a black man was accused of burning down a shed when their was no such evidence and was punished severely for it. The language that Conrad uses identifies the discrimination that was clearly seen in Africa. Conrad makes the comparison of "a quarrel-some band of footsore sulky niggers" to a donkey(44). Unnecessary punishment as well as racial discrimination were commonplaces in this novel and in Africa.

One of the physical plots in this novel is that European capitalists are trying to exploit all of the major resources in Africa, and in this book, specifically on the Congo river. "The word 'ivory' rang in the air.... You would think they were praying to it.(33)" Ivory was a valued necessity to European Capitalists in Africa. It was crucial to their rank in trade and industrialization. Conrad uses the object of ivory to express a literal meaning of Kurtz journey into the jungle. Conrad brings up the term ivory throughout the novel as Marlow tries to find Kurtz. Ivory is simply a symbol for capitalism in that European capitalists will go deep into the dangerous and treacherous jungles of Africa in order to exploit major resources.

"The Eldorado Exploring Expedition" shows a similar theme in that it clearly defines the imperialist and capitalist theme in this novel. The expedition is a symbol for Capitalist's lust for gold in the jungle. Capitalists traveled in great danger just to bring back gold and fortune for their private organizations. Imperialists, on the other hand brought back resources to bring prosper to their respective countries so they could compete in the world's balance for power. The Belgians, in this novel, were venturing deep in the jungle as a sign of their colonizing Africa and their fierce competitiveness to win the world's balance for power.

The themes Imperialism and Capitalism occur more in the first half of Heart of Darkness than in the second. It is almost as if Conrad is using the beginning of the novel to express a literal meaning of the journey and the second half of the novel to show a more psychological and metaphorical interpretation of the journey into the wilderness. Nevertheless, Conrad shows a great deal of Imperialism and Capitalism in this novel both physically and pyschologically.

Sources:
Conrad, Joseph. Heart Of Darkness. New York. Bantam Books, 1902.