urget

[shahedccc]

Can anyone give me some ideas/examples of cultural interaction that takes place between the european and africans in the heart of darkness?

[Yvonne Sturgeon]

Look up the imperialist nation of Belgium and the activities of King Leopold at the turn of the century. Conrad bases the novel on this, and calls the city where the Company is located a "whited sepulchre"...i.e. beautiful on the outside, but hideous/black/dead inside.
also, for direct reference, look at the various times on the trip when they "stall" on the river- why? We read how often the whites are lazy and ill-directed, with no leadership and things 'going to waste'; unorganized. Conrad is saying something here about colonialism as a whole, yes? Yet they are brutal in their approach towards the natives, as if they are the "proper" race, yet look at how they must have looked to the natives/i.e savages. Conrad is simply trying to get us to ask ourselves who is the savage here, exactly, and do we become what our surroundings dictate for us, or are we predisposed already towards colonialism (i.e. conquest-examples in Part I)