Heart of Darkness: Entry 1

I have begun reading Joseph Conrad's (Jozef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski) book Heart of Darkness, a story of boat captain Marlow's crew as they sail through the rivers of the African Congo in search of ivory and the mysterious figure, Kurtz.  The plot is deeply allegorical, and the relationships established between the civilized English sailors and the natives of the Congo outline Conrad's objections against imperialism and his pessimistic view of human nature.  When once asked about human nature and human endeavors, Conrad replied thus:

"The mysteries of a universe made of drops of fire and clods of mud do not concern us in the least.  The fate of humanity condemned ultimately to perish from cold is not worth troubling about.  If you take it to heart it becomes an unendurable tragedy.  If you believe in improvement you must weep, for the attained perfection must end in cold, darkness and silence.  In a dispassionate view the ardour for reform, improvement for virture, and knowledge, and even for beauty is only a vain sticking up for appearances as though one were anxious about the cut of one's clothes in a community of blind men. (Collected Letters, vol. 2, pp.16-17)."

This "Camusesque" absurdism is to be expected when reading Conrad's works. 

Here is a quote from Ch.1 that I have come across that tells of Marlow's views on imperialism, or world conquest:

"They [ancient Roman armies] were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force--nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others...It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind...The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away form those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much...what redeems it is the idea only. (Conrad 41)." 

For information about imperialism in the Congo, visit the following website:

http://web.jjay.cuny.edu/~jobrien/reference/ob111.html