Critical Book Review: The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad Throughout the history of civilization, global forces have used the direction of morality and an interpretation subjective view of good versus evil to advance their economic and political stronghold. A great example is found in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, where sexism, racism, human rights violations, and economic imperialism collide with each other to reveal examples of the darker side of human nature. Through the narrator Marlow, Conrad describes his personal experiences in the Congo, blurring the line between fiction and reality and opening up various types of controversy and debate that, for centuries, will cast disbelief on his morality and motivation. It's obvious that Conrad has an original narrative style in Heart of Darkness, which I would say a big influence comes from his childhood experiences. There are many readers who may be offended by his storytelling style, however for the most part I haven't offended any of it. In Heart of Darkness, Conrad uses an unidentified first-person narrator, no identity or name is given, and other than that of the narrative itself, Marlow has no role in the story. I read what he is saying, but not once in the story do I know the emotions related to what he is thinking or feeling. For me, this created a separation from the narrator that added an extreme level of complication to the story. Distance and separation forced me as a reader to engage my imagination and allowed me to become a participant in the ultimate meaning of the story. While this strategy may or may not fulfill the narrator's originally intended purpose, it allowed me to become more personally connected to the story, and indeed,...at the center of the card...we were deeply racist. The inner message of this story goes beyond explaining colonial exploitation and racism. While exploitation plays a large role on the surface theme of this novel, I felt that the deeper message and theme has to do with the transformative issue of how power can corrupt those it holds back. There are certain boundaries set by the concise and there is a certain level of comfort brought about staying within those boundaries. On the contrary, when our boundaries are crossed or we take a step into our comfort zone, we as people tend to create unacceptable behaviors. In this novel I see Conrad exploring territories beyond those borders, about what happens when an individual crosses the boundaries established by consciousness. and social conditions precisely because he appears to find himself in circumstances in which he is able to cross these boundaries.