Answer:
Futility
Several images throughout Heart of Darkness suggest the futility of European presence in Africa. The first such image Marlow witnesses off the West African coast, where a French warship fires pointlessly at an invisible enemy. Another image appears later, at the Central Station, when Marlow watches as frantic Europeans pointlessly attempt to extinguish a burning grass hut. In addition to these instances of useless action, Marlow takes note of pointless labor practices at the Company Station. There he observes white Europeans forcing Africans to blast a hole through a cliff for no apparent reason. He also nearly falls into a random hole in the ground that slave laborers dug. Marlow speculates that the hole has no purpose other than to occupy the slaves: “It might have been connected with the philanthropic desire of giving the criminals something to do.” As with the examples of the warship and the grass hut, the grossly inefficient labor practices at the Company Station suggest the pointlessness of the European mission in Africa.
Step-by-step explanation:
The British Empire is a term used to describe all the places around the world that were once ruled by Britain. Built over many years, it grew to include large areas of North America, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Africa, as well as small parts of Central and South America, too.