Question

Read the following excerpt from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

Once, I remember, we came upon a man-of-war anchored
off the coast. There wasn't even a shed there, and she was
shelling the bush. It appears the French had one of their
wars going on thereabouts.... In the empty immensity of
earth, sky, and water, there she was, incomprehensible,
firing into a continent. Pop, would go one of the six-inch
guns; a small flame would dart and vanish, a little white
smoke would disappear, a tiny projectile would give a
feeble screech-and nothing happened. Nothing could
happen. There was a touch of insanity in the proceeding.
Which idea about colonialism is most clearly expressed in this excerpt?

Answer 1

The excerpt from Heart of Darkness expresses the idea of unchecked colonial power and intrusion onto colonized lands.

Step-by-step explanation:

The idea about colonialism most clearly expressed in this excerpt is the notion of the unchecked power and intrusion of colonizers onto colonized lands. The man-of-war shelling the bush represents the colonial power exerting force and dominance over the continent, without fully understanding or comprehending the local context. The line 'There was a touch of insanity in the proceeding' suggests that the actions of the colonizers were irrational and lacked reason.

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