Heart of Darkness Five

Europe's attitude towards Africa parallels Marlow's feelings for the helmsman because Marlow believes he has a responsibility to look after him and worry about his well-being.

Marlow refers to the helmsman as "a savage who was no more account than a grain of sand in a black Sahara" (124). Marlow believes that, by himself, the helmsman is not particularly someone who has the ability to impact the situation as a whole. This coincides with the Europeans' belief that the Africans were uncivilized people who, individually, played a very insignificant role in the big picture. Marlow also refers to his relationship with the helmsman as a partnership but also calls him "a help---an instrument" (124). Marlow contradicting himself in saying they share a partnership, a relationship between two parties seen as equals, but also referring to him as an instrument. This contradiction of motive parallels that of the Europeans when they entered Africa; they claimed they were trying to help the people and work with the Africans to help them advance for their own benefit. However, they took advantage of the Africans and used them as "instruments" with which they could do whatever they pleased. Later, Marlow claims that he believes it is his responsibility "to look after him" (124) and that he "worried about [the helmsman's] deficiencies" (124). His paternal and somewhat condescending tone while he explains his feelings towards the helmsman reveals that Marlow feels as though the helmsman is his "junior brother". This term was often used by the Europeans when they described what they believed their relationship with the Africans to be. The term "junior brother" is meant to give the idea that the Europeans saw the Africans as equals (hence, "brothers") but lesser equals (hence, "junior"), as Marlow now sees the helmsman. The role of the Europeans/Marlow parallels that of an older brother to his younger brother; it is their responsibility to look after, worry for, and guide their younger brother towards the path