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A journey in literature can be used to demonstrate a variety of things. It is often used to signify a journey through life, “a fall from innocence”, in novels like The Catcher in the Rye and The Red Badge of Courage. However, in the novel, Heart or Darkness, Conrad uses the journey both in its literal and figurative meanings. Most obvious is Marlow’s journey to discover Africa, and the effects of imperialism. On a deeper level, it seems as if Conrad uses the journey to cloak Marlow’s true journey into himself. Throughout the bulk of the novel, Marlow is traveling through Africa and bearing first-hand witness to the effects imperialism can bring upon a place. Conrad describes the people and the scenery as Marlow travels deeper and deeper into Africa as becoming more and more uncivilized, or “savage” as he puts it. In describing the people of Africa, Marlow is hiding the racist views of the times inside his novel. Also, Marlow notices throughout the novel