The thesis deals with the presentation of imperialism in Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness and argues that the author’s approach to imperialism is very complex. Reading the literary work, one can trace both passages that condemn imperialist ideology and those that seem to advocate it, precluding the reach of an absolute conclusion. The novel is discussed against a specific backdrop, the late nineteen century Congo, taking into account several concepts that are essential to the understanding of the subject in question, and relying on Conrad’s short story “An Outpost of Progress.” Unlike the novel, this story reveals the author’s univocal approach to the imperial system and thus considerably facilitates the understanding of ideas presented in the novel. One of the chapters focuses on the figure of Kurtz, the novel’s notorious character that symbolizes the embodiment of European imperialism in Africa, whereas the last part of the thesis deals with three critical studies that have had a major impact on the perception of the novel today.
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