A nation of tortured slaves with bodies so emaciated you could count their ribs, death lingering in every corner as overworked natives line the ground with their forms lifeless, a people so scarred that evil men are allowed to rule like gods. Unfortunately, the gruesome description also applies to African tribes who were victims of the cruelty of colonialism. Highlighting the abominable evils of imperial tradition, Joseph Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness to expose the possibility of malevolence in a human being. Throughout the tale, Conrad illustrates disgusting images of the horrendous effects of the colonization of African tribes by incorporating themes such as the inversion of black and white images, the "glamour of the abomination", and the evil inherent in humanity. Uniquely, Conrad often describes good and virtuous situations or people using the commonly negative description of black. Likewise, Conrad also uses the word “white” to describe negative, evil, or unfortunate events and people. Another use of the theme arises when Conrad's main narrator, Marlow, becomes fascinated by wild people and the cruelty under which they live. Although the situations and people are described as wild, Marlow pays particular attention to the details of these people because they are all human, like him. Finally, the protagonist, Kurtz, falls into deep evils as his soul is consumed by greedy, power-hungry ambitions. Conrad often discusses the possibility of evil in every man if the environment is unbridled and open to dictatorial control. Although the main idea of ​​the novel is evil in man, a Nigerian professor, Chinua Achebe, strongly criticizes what he believes to be both obvious and subtle racist undertones through... middle of paper... identically, Conrad distances himself from the main narrator and creates a deep character by writing a plot, which is why Conrad and Marlow probably differ greatly in some opinions. Marlow may have displayed some racist traits, but Conrad removed his personal voice from parts of the narrative to ironically demonstrate that he did not agree with the statements being told. In thematic parallels with the novel, was Achebe truly disgusted by Conrad's “racist” undertones or did he too simply have a “fascination with the abomination” that was presented through the character of Marlow? Works Cited Primary: Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Clayton, D.E.: Prestwick House: Touchstone Literary Classics. Print.Secondary: Achebe, Chinua. “An image of Africa”. EXPLORING novels. Detroit Online: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center - Gold. Storm. Ascension Academy. June 9th 2008.