Heart of Darkness Lesson Plan

Is there any moral to the first section of Marlow's tale?

Marlow seems apologetic about coming to any moral, thematic, or conclusive sureties, as this would in some way make the tragedy of his lost and threatened imperialist perspective less dramatic. Through this half-hearted protest of innocence or effete pre-existentialism, though, one can argue that the true nature of Marlow’s story is that of the imperialist who enters the conquered territory with preconceived notions about its relativity to him as a conqueror. In a sense, he brings with him to the new territory the moral mechanisms and prejudices of the industrial, imperialist mindset, and hopes to foist them on his...