Thomas Carlyle, a Scottish writer, once said: “Isolation is the sum total of misery for a man. » When comparing this statement to Heart of Darkness, it is absolutely true. In the short story Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, the protagonist, Charlie Marlow, leaves his familiar society for his new job. In order to maintain sanity while isolated from society, he dehumanizes the strange people he meets there. Heart of Darkness is about the effect of isolation on a person and this short story 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 around them. Charlie Marlow dehumanizes the natives in order to create an emotional barrier between his work and what he witnesses. He has a strong set of beliefs, one of them being that white people are superior to Africans. When Marlow first arrives at the station, he sees a large shade 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 on earth now, nothing but black shadows of disease and famine, lying confused in the greenish darkness." (Conrad 85). Marlow is struck with horror by this gruesome sight, but by referring to the natives as mere shadows, he attempts to detach himself from what he actually sees. These people symbolize nothing more than shadows to Marlow. By believing this, the spectacle of these men's deaths becomes a little less painful and disturbing. Marlow's natural instinct is to classify a person as a friend or foe and the fact that he cannot label these people as one or the other proves...... middle of paper .... we must keep hope. Thomas Carlyle was right because Charlie Marlow tries to hold on to his beliefs in order 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 meets there to stay sane. Heart of Darkness is about a person's tendency to dehumanize others in isolating situations. 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. “Isolation Quotes” print. Famous quotes and quotations on BrainyQuote. Internet. February 1. 2010..