Over ten million Africans were killed in the Congo during the invasion of European imperialism in 1850. In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad uses the setting to show the harmful effects of European imperialism in the mind, Africa and those who would become entangled pawns in the capitalist greed of European corporations. In the book Africa can be seen as a character fighting against invaders. As the characters in the book remain in Africa they find their psyches becoming severely damaged. In the beginning, Marlow finds that Fresleven, “…was the kindest and most silent creature… Therefore… he smote the old negro without mercy…” (Conrad 8). As Fresleven interacted with Africa, he begins to go crazy. The great contrast between the person Fresleven was and the person he became indicates that Africa warps the mind. This kind man turns into a murderer because he works in Africa. But the accident that caused Fresleven's death had to do with money. The effects of imperialism in Africa are killing him. Leaving only his bones in the ground. Greed becomes one of the main motivations in the book that kills. Marlow's fascination with Kurtz never truly ends, yet Kurtz's greed clearly ruins him during his escapade in Africa. This once “...'universal genius'...” (Conrad 32), is now just a delusional man. His greed drives him to madness: “The word “ivory” rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. It seems like they are praying for this” (Corrado 24). Kurtz kills and loots ivory, long after he becomes ill. It becomes a desperate race for him, trying to collect all the ivory in Africa; even after having succumbed to the disease that Africa causes him. All the characters in the book become ill due to the effects of the imperia... middle of the card... making it harder for them to move through the world. desert. This stems from the fact that Africa mostly just wants the agents gone. Marlow also recognizes that the forest is impenetrable (Conrad 40). Therefore, Africa effectively protects most of its internal borders from agents. Conrad takes a strong stand against European imperialism in Heart of Darkness. It convincingly shows not only the damage that imperialism has on Africa, but also on the young people who are sent to Africa to plunder it in exchange for ivory to make money for companies. Create Africa as a character by allowing the setting to directly influence and interact with the other characters in the story, through fog, river, disease and vegetation. By creating a metaphor of host and parasite it shows the dehumanization that occurs in agents and human qualities that occurs in Africa.