Ineed fast

"they were dying slowly--it was very clear. they were not enemies, they

were not criminals, they were nothing earthly but black

shadows of disease and starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish

gloom. brought from all the recesses of the coast in all the legality

of time contracts, lost in uncongenial surroundings, fed on unfamiliar

food, they sickened, became inefficient, and were then allowed to crawl

away and rest."

identify the theme of this excerpt from the heart of darkness, by joseph conrad, and explain the author's interpretation of the british empire.