Thomas Carlyle, a Scottish writer, once said, "Isolation is the sum total of a man's misery." Comparing this statement to Heart of Darkness is completely true. In the story Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad the protagonist, Charlie Marlow, leaves his family society for his new job. To maintain his sanity while isolated from society, he dehumanizes the strange people he encounters while there. Heart of Darkness is about the effect of isolation on a person and this novella is best described by the word dehumanizing. Marlow, the Russian, and the natives dehumanize the people around them to give themselves hope and protect themselves from the horror that surrounds them. Charlie Marlow dehumanizes the natives to create an emotional barrier between his work and what he witnesses. He has a number of strong beliefs, one of which is that whites are superior to Africans. When Marlow first arrives at the station, he sees a large, shady tree in the distance and decides to investigate. Marlow goes under the tree and finds many Africans groaning and waiting to die. Marlow explains, “'They were not enemies, they were not criminals, there was nothing earthly now, nothing but black shadows of disease and hunger, lying confused in the greenish darkness'” (Conrad 85). Marlow is struck with horror at this horrible sight, but by referring to the natives as if they were only shadows he attempts to distance himself from what he is really seeing. These people symbolize nothing more than shadows for Marlow. Believing this makes watching these men die a little less painful and disturbing. Marlow's natural instinct is to categorize a person as friend or foe and the fact that he cannot label these people as either shows... middle of paper... that he holds out hope. Thomas Carlyle was right because Charlie Marlow tries to maintain his fixed beliefs to avoid the “misery” associated with isolationism. In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Charlie Marlow faces isolating new events in Africa, but he dehumanizes the strange people he encounters while there to stay sane. Heart of Darkness is about a person's tendency to dehumanize others in situations of isolation. Charlie Marlow, the Russian and the natives give each other hope and protect themselves from what is happening around them by dehumanizing the people around them. Works Cited Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer. New York: Simon and SchusterPaperbacks, 2004. Print."Quotes on Isolation." Famous Quotes and Quotes on BrainyQuote. Network. 01 February. 2010..