Conrad has been accused of being a racist because of the way he portrays the natives in this story. It is a controversy that continues even today. It can be argued that because of the way he depicts the natives, they cannot be an essential part of Heart of Darkness. However, if one reads between the lines it is obvious that the story would not be shaped the way it is if the natives were not involved. The natives in a sense create Kurtz. They are his “people” and his followers:

Suddenly round the corner of the house a group of men appeared, as though they had come up from the ground. They waded waist-deep in the grass in a compact body bearing an improvised stretcher in there midst. Instantly in the emptiness of the landscape a cry arose whose shrillness pierced the still air&

There are many other components that make up Heart Of Darkness other than the natives. One could write a book on this novel and still not have grasped everything Conrad intended to hint at in the jungle he created. Every word means something in this story. Every syllable is important in understanding what Conrad was trying to say in Heart Of Darkness: Do not let the darkness suck you in because you will never come out again.

#8230;And is if by enchantment streams of human beings - of naked human beings - with spears in their hands, with bows, with shields, with wild glances and savage movements, were poured into the clearing by the dark-faced and pensive forest. (58-59).

One scene in Heart of Darkness, which unquestionably shows the lack of respect the natives are given, is when Marlow is at the Company Station on his way to the Congo. He describes the natives as “ants” which are decomposers. Marlow is describing the natives as creatures that do nothing but break down and destroy the land. When Marlow tries to get away from this scene of natives he steps “into a gloomy circle of some Inferno…Black shapes crouched, lay, sat between the trees, leaning against the trunks, clinging to the earth, half coming out, half effaced within the dim light, in all the attitudes of pain, abandonment, and despair…They were dying slowly…they were nothing earthly now, nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation lying confusedly in the greenish gloom.” (20) Marlow characterizes the natives as “unearthly creatures” that have been abandoned from society. It has been accepted that they do not deserve to live like regular human beings. They must live in “abandonment and despair” because they are criminals. Marlow depicts them as slowly rising out of the earth as if they were horrid creatures that only come out in the darkness because no one can bear to see t

Some common words found in the essay are:
Heart Darkness, Station Congo, Black Death, Darkness Conrad, Joseph Conrad, heart darkness, glances savage movements, wild glances savage, savage movements, natives human, describes natives, acute angles, glances savage, wild glances,
Approximate Word count = 1296
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)