Author(s): Maha Samih Alanbagi

Abstract: This paper deals with an important as well as a controversial novel the Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Conrad had suffered in his early lifetime from the imperialism of Russa to Ukraine his native homeland. Thus, the novel is an outcome of the collaboration of different life experiences especially his journey to the Congo. He developed a disease from Africa which forced him to stay home for some time, so he started writing and became one of the modern novelists. The Heart of Darkness is the most important of Joseph Conrad's novels as he commented before the Congo he was just a mere animal. The novel reflects Conrad's long journey into the self. This paper also explains how Conrad was accused of being an imperialist and a racist due to different factors which were discussed in this study. Some critics defended Conrad but others criticized his schemes of dealing with the topic of colonialism, severely.

Keywords: racist, colonization, loot, Ivory, Congo.

Article Info: Received: 07 Dec 2023; Received in revised form: 03 Jan 2024; Accepted: 07 Jan 2024; Available online: 15 Jan 2024

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.91.47