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Although The Heart of Darkness does in many ways uphold the notion of the British gentleman and their authority, it, in contrast, uses a variety of techniques to critique the notion of imperialism and the colonial period. The text highlights the ruthless colonial exploitation, involuntary servitude, and direct violence, the native people that live in the insolvent state endure. This meaning however, is complex and at times only implicit. Conrad after all never identifies the location of "the river" and refers to Belgium as the "Sepulchral city". However, Conrad, through the construction of his character, Marlow openly expresses the negative aspects of colonialism. .
"They were conquerors, and for that you wants only brute force-nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others. It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind-as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness." .
The recurring theme of darkness (a symbol for the reality of their society) and fear perpetuate the action, and ultimately envelops the characters that struggle with this dilemma such as Kurtz. The message of this however: is that colonization destroys at the native peoples expense, close-minded European views perpetuate racism in these nations, and evil is a driving and yet sometimes unnoticed force.
A reading taken from the novella by a reader of Conrad's time will be entirely different to one of modern times. The most prominent explanation for this is the simple fact that in that era, the people were not able to see anything wrong with what they were doing. The blacks to them were mere impositions with no worth, they were of a lower classless society. This is exemplified when Marlow talks about the helmsman of his steamer. He describes him simply as another part of the working steamer, an updated model of the originals.