Joseph Conrad's short story, Heart of Darkness, effectively exposed the racism that was common during his lifetime. Through the harsh behavior and word choice of the characters and the narrator, Conrad shows the uncivilized treatment of non-whites that occurred during the period of colonization. Edward Garnett, an English writer and critic, summarized the plot of Heart of Darkness as “an impression…of the civilizing methods of a certain large European trading company face to face with the “negro” (145 Heart of dark backgrounds and Criticisms ). . Conrad's use of harsh language and terrifying situations, based on his experiences, captures the audience's attention and helps them see the cruelty of European colonization of Africa. The reality of racism during the 19th century is easily seen throughout Conrad's novella. An important example of this is the voice of the narrator. Throughout the story, the narrator uses cruel adjectives when describing non-whites. Marlow, the story's protagonist, serves as narrator for much of the tale, and his descriptions of the non-white characters appear to be rooted in the idea that Africans were hideous, animal-like creatures. In the second section of the tale, Marlow describes a wild elephant, which was the main source of ivory. Describing the elephants, he writes: “They screamed, jumped, turned and made horrible faces, but what moved you was only the thought of their humanity, like your own, the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate tumult. Bad. Yes, it was pretty bad…” (book 36 Norton). These descriptions of the elephant are ironically similar to the narrator's description of the non-white characters. In a description of some “bla… middle of paper……the colonialists were the real savages, and the Africans were the ones being taken advantage of. Conrad's story effectively painted the picture of the depravity of racism, and his characters were the tool he used to communicate the message. Works Cited Bloom, H. (2008). Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad, new edition. New York: Infobase Pub. Conrad, J., & Armstrong, P. B. (2006). Heart of Darkness: authoritative text, backgrounds and contexts, criticism. New York: W. W. Norton & Co. Conrad, J., and In Dean, L. F. (1960). Heart of Darkness: background and criticism. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Fothergill, A. (1989). Heart of Darkness. Milton Keynes [England: Open University Press.Fothergill, A. (1989). Heart of Darkness. Milton Keynes [England: Open University Press.Swisher, C. (1999). Readings on Heart of Darkness. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press.