Marlow's Rejection of Colonization

When the Europeans first colonized Africa, they encompassed nothing more than moral intentions. They wanted nothing more than to free them from their savagery and bring them into the circle of civilization. Marlow believed in this moral intention, though, he found later that these weren't the main intentions of the colonizers. Marlow later finds that this foremost reason was just a pretense: both false and deceitful. Their underlying reason was exploitation, something he had come to notice and hate as a result.

This inherent rationale led to a certain indignation towards the European colonizers. They had lied, and Marlow hates, detests, and "can't bear a lie." (47) The colonizers, he further states, are "unreal." They are as phony as "the philanthropic pretense" (42) they refer to as liberation, just as false "as their government" and "as their show of work," (42) emphasizing their fraudulence. From the beginning, though, this spitefulness is evident. For one, upon hearing his Aunt mention the Europeans' plans to wean "those ignorant" Africans "from their horrid ways," (19) he becomes "uncomfortable," suggesting her inaccurateness and lack of knowledge. He then goes on to chastise her about how ignorant and "out of touch with truth" (19) she is. Furthermore, he refutes the notion that the Africans are "enemies" and "criminals," (27) saying instead that they are "nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation," (28) mere victims of European exploitation, which is evident in their payment of "brass wire" (74) to the Africans. He becomes both astounded and appalled by this method of payment. He struggled to comprehend just how they could ever make use of their "extravagant salary" (74) if there were no villages in sight and no chance of the boat ever stopping, making it impossible for them to trade their earnings.

This opposition can be viewed further in Marlow's attraction and fondness of the book he finds in the hut. Written by a "Master in his Majesty's Navy," (68) the book, titled An Inquiry into some Points of Seamanship, possesses "a singleness of intention, an honest concern for the right way of going to work," (68) a clear condemnation aimed directly at the colonizers. It shows, irrefutably, his beliefs that the Europeans are truly immoral, with greatly unscrupulous objectives that outweigh the more honest objectives they initially set out on. Their current actions, he believed, were just unmistakably wrong.

Upon developing this ill will towards colonization, Marlow comes to respect the Africans.