Joseph Conrad's 1899 novella narrated by Marlow recounting his journey up the Congo River to find the legendary Kurtz — who has 'gone native' and established himself as a god — one of the most analyzed texts in English literature and a foundational critique of European imperialism.
Exposes the moral horror at the center of the imperial project — Kurtz's decomposition from idealist ('bring light to the savages') to 'The horror! The horror!' demonstrates that the European claim to be civilizing Africa is a lie covering systematic violence and extraction — and Achebe's critique (that it is still racist) adds a further layer.
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