FREE ESSAY ON THE PERVERSITY OF THE CONGO

THE PERVERSITY OF THE CONGO

In the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad one of the major themes is the perversity
of the Congo. What is good and evil in the European world becomes distorted and hazy in
the heart of Africa. To the outside world white is good and black is evil; it is as
simple as that. This philosophy is embodied in Marlow's aunt, who believes that his job
is to bring light into the land of darkness and to enlighten the savages. This idea,
however, becomes corrupted when white objects symbolize suffering and greed instead of
good, and light images hide the presence of darkness. Symbols such as, a white rag, white
imperialists and ivory, no longer represent the good will of the imperialists, on the
other hand they represent the exploitation and chaos that the Europeans have brought to
the Congo. The main character Marlow is faced with this confusion as he voyages through
the jungle, and he must reevaluate his former opinions, which no longer hold true.
The European philosophy is shown through the conversation that Marlow has with his aunt
before commencing his adventure. According to her, his job seems clear: to bring
civilization and light to the "heart of darkness." Instead of focusing on the horrors of
imperialism she is disillusioned to believe that it is all for the better. The Europeans,
especially the British have no respect for other cultures or other ways of life, and they
truly believe that they are helping the Africans. Not by choice but because of the "white
man's burden" they feel the need to "[wean] those ignorant millions from their horrid
ways"(28). To the outside this seems like an earnest motive; however, once inside Marlow
begins to see new forms of corruption. Are the imperialists their to help, or are they
there to make money to fulfill their greed? He begins to realize that it is not the black
savages who represent evil, but rather the selfish whites. 
This corruption is further shown through the novel with symbols that reveal that
perversity of the jungle. None of Marlow's previous beliefs hold true in the Congo and he
must reevaluate what is light and what is dark. He is confronted with the distortion of
images and confusion at the first station. He sees a group of natives in the shade and
immediately compares it to hell. As he states: "Black shapes crouched, lay, sat between
the trees, leaning against the trunks, clinging to the earth, half coming out, half
effaced within the dim light, in all the attitudes of pain, abandonment, and
despair"(35). He notices one figure in particular, one with a white rag around his neck.
Is it the natives who create this feeling of suffering or is it the whites? These people
are in the shade because they have nothing to live for anymore. The imperialists have
destroyed their way of life and now they are eagerly awaiting death. The corruption is
not in the black boy, rather in the white rag. What it symbolizes is not clear. Marlow
asks, "Where did he get it? Was it a badge - an ornament - a charm - a propitiatory
act...It looked startling round his black neck, this bit of white thread from beyond the
seas"(35). Marlow does not know why exactly the boy is wearing the rag; however, he does
know that the Europeans brought it - along with suffering and corruption. Rather than
bringing light to the natives, they have brought nothing but pain and chaos.
This confusion in appearances is show again with the alternative motives of the whites.
They are not humanitarians helping a civilization out of good will. They are there out of
greed and corruption. Without the presence of society, the inner core of humans is
revealed and what is white on the outside is sometimes black on the inside. This reversal
of appearances is displayed in all the imperialists that Marlow comes across. One is the
manager at the first station. He gives the allusion of being a gentleman with his
European clothing and manners, yet inside he is filled with crookedness. In order to
maintain this image he must train a native to follow his orders. He makes another suffer
to keep the allusion of being white. This distortion of appearances is revealed again in
the uncle of the manager of the second station. His skin color hides the presence of
evil. Marlow remarks that he "seemed to beckon with a dishonoring flourish before the
sunlit face of the land a treacherous appeal to the lurking death, to the hidden evil, to
the profound darkness of its heart"(58). Marlow does not know what his plans are;
however, he has nothing good to say about Kurtz and is focused on the betterment of his
own situation. 
Ivory is the underlying force to all the Europeans motives. The Europeans may claim to be
helping the "savages" by bringing civilization; however, in reality they are just
exploiting both the land and the people and bring corruption, not light. Kurtz, who
becomes a white demi-god to the natives, goes to the jungle with the intention of helping
them, yet he too becomes obsessed with a greed for ivory, which eventually leads to his
death. The Europeans led by Kurtz are raping the country: "Ivory? I should think so.
Heaps of it, stacks of it. The old mud shanty was bursting with it. You would think there
was not a single tusk left either above or below the ground in the whole country"(81).
They take what they want and leave destruction in their paths. All of the imperialists
that Marlow comes across on his journey possess this feeling of uneasiness because of the
fact that their appearances suggest good and honesty, while their alternative motives are
hidden inside.
Once in the jungle Marlow realizes that his pervious beliefs and distinctions do not hold
true with the absence of society. What seems cut and dry to his aunt and the rest of the
Europeans becomes distorted. The idea of the whites bringing light to the black natives
is perverted. The "heart of darkness" is not the uncivilized Congo, but is rather the
alternative motives of the whites hidden by appearances. Marlow is confronted with this
deception on many occasions. What appears to him like hell was not the presence of the
natives, yet rather was the suffering and the pain that the Europeans brought upon them.
On the other hand, people that he meets that are white on the outside are filled with the
"darkness of the heart." The opposition between light and dark, black and white, good and
evil is not the same in the Congo as it is in Europe. Without society these forces become
perverted and hard to distinguish between.