How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"'Anyhow, he can't be much good; but then you see I am on the look-out for somebody, and I've just got a thing that will suit him. I'll give him a job on my island!' He nodded significantly. 'I'm going to dump forty coolies there – if I've to steal 'em [...] Make him supreme boss over the coolies. Good idea isn't it?'" (14.7)
The Australian is probably the most overtly racist character in the book, and Marlow's discomfort with him on various levels is worth noting. "Coolie" was a derogatory term used to describe native individuals in British imperial holdings. Not cool, dude.
Quote #8
"'Sometimes it seems to me that man is come where he is not wanted, where there is no place for him; for if not, why should he want all the place? Why should he run about here and there making a great noise about himself, talking about the stars, disturbing the blades of grass? [...]" (20.7)
Stein gives a fascinating spiel about empire here, and seems to be questioning the whole shebang. He speaks about "man" in general, but he's clearly referring to white men tromping around the world setting up empires – the greedy men who "want all the place." In a book that often comes across as gung-ho for the empire, this passage stands out.
Quote #9
"'For a bag of pepper they would cut each other's throats without hesitation, and would forswear their souls, of which they were so careful otherwise [...]." (22.1)
We get yet another criticism of empire here from Marlow, who emphasizes its violent, greedy, and often futile nature. The way he tells it, the entire effort is all about the benjamins.