Anti-Imperialism: Mine

When the explorers sent to conquer and tame these newfound lands, they thought the white race should own everything. Unfortunately, history proved Conrad right when each of the conquered regions began to regain their independence. Although that feeling of property over the savage lands died towards the end of the imperialistic times, the few veterans like Kurtz strongly believe in it. This moment reflects Kurtz's obsession with possessing everything and it could form part of a metaphor that represents the greed of the European nations for the wealth in its new properties: "'My Ivory.' Oh yes, I head him. 'My Intended, my ivory, my station, my river, my everything belonged to him. It made me hold my breath in expectation of hearing the wilderness burst into prodigious peal of laughter that would shake the fixed stars in their places. Everything belonged to him- but that was a trifle. The thing was to know what he belonged to, how many powers of darkness claimed him for their own." (89)

The first part of this quote shows the greed and the feeling that it developed on the Europeans. It consumed and made them very materialistic. This feeling created an apetite for owning things they could not actually have. An
intended too far away to even confirm her existence, a river as untamable as any other, a station fragile when facing the perils of the aborigines and a precious resource that kept the entire system in place exemplifies this range of unattainable objects. Then comes nature laughing at their wasted pride, reminding us that it is impossible to truly own anything. Meanwhile, as european nations dreamt of wealth and ownership beyond their borders, other perils awaited them. "Powers" like division inside the countries' hearts and threats to the amongst each other endangered them greatly. In the end, despite their apparent size, power and fame (like Kurtz) their true form is weak and overgrown. Despite their size they are weak or the author implies it.

Clearly, Imperialism is a main theme on the book and even three blogs do not cover its entire extent in the novel. It plays a key role as a setting but it becomes even more important as Conrad uses other elements to critique it. This is his style. It characterizes the book and must be noted when talking about Conrad's work.