In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, what are examples of appearance versus reality?I found an example in the civilized way the accountant...

In Joseph Conrad's novel, Heart of
Darkness, there are several examples of appearance versus
reality.

Ivory is an example of this. It is "harvested" and
shipped all over the world to make elegant jewelry, women's fans, the keys of pianos:
things of beauty and sophistication. The reality is that hunters kill elephants to take
the ivory; the men that work within the stations up the Congo River are enslaved by the
white man: they are starved, sick, beaten and hopeless
souls.

Another example of appearance versus reality is the
jungle and its inhabitants. As Marlow travels up the river, they see plants and animals
along their way. However, behind the leaves are natives who do not want Kurtz to be
taken away. They shoot arrows at the ship and a hidden danger of the jungle is revealed
through the foliage that hides the ship's attackers.

When
the area known today as the Democratic Republic of the Congo was initially "settled," it
came under the control of the Belgian government, specifically, its king, Leopold II.
Leopold II and his "supporters" were allegedly interested in bringing Christianity and
civilization into the jungle, but the clearer truth was a desire to take the natural
resources from that area.

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Actions taken in the name of philanthropy [were]
merely covers for greed.

The
natives received nothing, but the "civilized" whites continued to take and take. This is
another instance of appearance versus reality, as seen by the Company's presence, there
to bring positive change to the people of that area; in reality they enslave the people
and provide the world with its precious ivory.

A final
example of appearance versus reality occurs at the end of the story when Marlow meets
with Kurtz's fiancée. Kurtz dies on his way out of the Congo. Marlow refuses to believe
Kurtz was insane, though he believed his soul was "insane." And
although Kurtz's last words were, "The horror! The horror!" which would indicate how
scarred his soul really was, Marlow lies when he meets the woman who has waited for
Kurtz's return, telling her that Kurtz died with her name on his
lips.