Conradian Congo In Heart Of Darkness: The Machiavellian Principality

Abstract

The paper presents Congo in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1997) as the centralized government with violence and without any political and social values that became the source of a painful experience for the natives. These attributes have achieved the aims of the ruling class on the expense of destruction for the ruled as an outcome of Machiavellian strategies. The research addresses the ‘state of qualitative inquiry’ by reimagining and proving Congo as a Machiavellian principality. The theoretical framework mainly focuses on Machiavellian philosophy while the method is close reading. The findings reveal how the ruling party, the Europeans, have manipulated the marginalized people of the Congo through their representatives by using Machiavellian strategies of controlling a principality. The critique aims to contribute towards a constructive path of solidarity and prosperity based on supportive ideals for individual as well as collective lives.

Key words: Machiavellianism, Principality, Colonialism, Congo.