"He was there below me, and, upon my word, to look at him was as edifying as seeing a dog in a parody of breeches and a feather hat, walking on it's hind legs" (Conrad 106).
In this quote, Marlow is describing an African man who was brought along to help run the steamship. Using one of his classic similes, Marlow compares the benefit of seeing the African man working to a "dog... walking on it's hind legs". This is an unnatural occurrence, for dogs are not meant to walk on two legs like people. Therefore, Marlow does not view this working African man as a natural occurrence. The dog in the "breeches and a feather hat" is parodying a person; However, dressing a dog in fancy clothes and standing him on two feet does not make a dog a person, just a humorous spectacle. This can be compared to Marlow's feeling that teaching an African how to work a steamship does not make him a European. This exposes Marlow's racism and his view that the African people are inferior to the Europeans, but are being made to act like they belong among them. In fact, Marlow later states that the African man "ought to have been clapping his hands and stamping his feet on the bank" (106). Marlow feels that the African man does not belong, and instead should be acting like the other Africans that the steamship passes. Also, while the African man is physically "below" Marlow on the steamship, he is also metaphorically below Marlow because he is seen as inferior to Europeans.
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