The light and darkness of colonialism at the heart of darknessIn the opening of his novel, Heart of Darkness, Conrad, through Marlow, establishes his thoughts on colonialism. He says that conquerors only use brutal force, "nothing to boast about", because it arises, by accident, from the weakness of others. Marlow compares his later history of colonialism to that of the Roman colonization of Northern Europe and the fascination associated with such an enterprise. However, Marlow challenges this view by painting a horrifying picture of the horrors of colonialist enterprises as we delve deeper into the novel's recesses. Here we see that Marlow sees colonization as "robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a large scale, and men going at it blindly - which is entirely appropriate for those who go about it darkness.” Furthermore, he sees such conquests as taking land and materials away from people who "have a different complexion or a slightly flatter nose." According to him, colonization only succeeds if it involves a “dedication to efficiency” and the creation of civilization, not exploitation (Conrad, 4). In the novel, seen through the eyes of its narrator Marlow, Conrad offers a frank critique of European imperial colonialism by alluding to the poignant differences between black and white and darkness and light. Through the use of individual characters, Conrad illustrates the differences between dark and light and black and white created by colonialism. Marlow and Kurtz may be two halves of the same soul. Throughout the story, Marlow is disgusted by what he sees during his employment with the Ivory Company. He is shocked and angry at the horrible treatment of black workers. At the end of his tale, Marlow turned to the middle of the paper to realize that even worse atrocities occurred during the era of colonialism. In his chapter on post-colonialism, Nealon says that such reprehensible colonialism as occurred in Conrad's Heart of Darkness "came to an end only relatively recently (and only, one might say, when it there was no “new” territory to colonize (56). » Works cited and consultedBradley, Candice (associate professor of anthropology, Lawrence Univ.). "Conrad's Africa and Africans in the Heart of Darkness." A Freshman Studies Conference at Lawrence University, January 24, 1996. Available: http://www.freespeech.org/james/conrad/heart.htm (Accessed April 2001) Conrad, Joseph Heart of Darkness. , New York: Dover, 1990. Dintenfass, Mark “Heart of Darkness: A Lawrence University Freshman Studies Lecture, March 14, 1996. *http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~csicseri/dintenfass.htm* ( February 2. 2000).