The Abduction of Africa in the Heart of DarknessAt the threshold of the twentieth century, when the exploitation of colonies was still widespread and the problem of the abuse of natural resources and of the largely ignored native inhabitants, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness invites us to reflect and ask ourselves when progress and expansion become rape. Joseph Conrad presents us with this, unfortunately, ageless book. It casts a brilliant light on the darkness inherited from our human inclinations, stripped of all pretence, in the midst of the jungle where those wild tendencies find fertile ground. The combination of greed, climate, and the demoralizing effect of frontier life brought out the worst in people. They were raping the land, basically stealing ivory from the natives, who they treated like slaves, or even worse than slaves, because slaves in America were an expensive commodity and therefore it was in the best interests of the slave owners to keep them. well nourished and healthy; these poor boys, however, were allowed to starve once they became ill. ...