In Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, what is Marlow's attitude towards Africa?

In
's ,confesses to loving maps as a boy and hankering after the excitement of
travel and adventure. During the description of his boyhood travel fantasies, Marlow references
his fascination with Africa, what he calls "a blank space" (14). However, Marlow
recognizes that, by the time he was ready to venture to Africa, "it had become a place of
darkness" (14).

Throughout the book, it's apparent that Marlow thinks of
Africa as a place of darkness. He sees it as a place that harkens back to the darker essence of
a more primitive humanity. For example, he says that traveling on the "river was like
traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world" (84). Additionally, Marlow regards
the vast wilderness of the Congo with a deep unease. At one point, he notes that "the great
wall of vegetation... was like a rioting invasion of soundless life... ready to topple over the
creek, to sweep every little man of us out of his little existence" (74). In short, it's
clear that Marlow views the African wilderness as a menacing and violent force that echoes the
dark beginnings of the human race. 

It's important to recognize that these
sentiments have significant racist undertones. Marlow's theory that Africa is a reflection of
primitive humanity functions upon the assumption that the cultures in Africa are inferior to his
own and represent a "primitive" version of humanity. Thus, while Marlow does not
exhibit the overt racism of some of his colleagues, he does possess subtly racist
beliefs.