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“Setting Analysis” In Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, the main character Marlow encounters many different settings and places that influence his thoughts and add to one of the themes of the book. The story is set at the turn of the 19th century as Marlow begins his personal story on a boat on the Thames river in England. In his story he goes to Belgium to sign up and work for a Belgian trading company moving ivory down the Congo River to a seaport for export from Africa. The settings in Africa are rich with symbolism relating to the commom theme that civilized people will become savage and uncivilized if they have to live with people they consider to have those traits. One area the setting ties in with this theme is when Marlow sees a train of black slaves starving and chained together and only then begins to realize the horrors of imperialism. Another area that supports this theme is shown when Marlow’s boat first pulls into the area where Kurtz lives and he begins to notice that Kurtz is not all he is expected to be. Kurtz has become and uncivilized monster. Conrad makes a detailed portrayal of the changing from civilized to savage when Marlow sits down in the shade of the forest to escape the heat and re