Litotes is the use of understatement, often through double negatives. The word comes from the Greek word "litos," meaning small or meager. Hence, the word is describing something as smaller or less valuable even if it is not. A writer might employ litotes in order to emphasize a particular characteristic of an object or person. It is also commonly used in social language when people say things such as "not bad." Especially when said with emphasis or enthusiasm, it is employed to actually mean incredible or outstanding.
In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad has Marlow employ litotes in his language to emphasize particular characteristics of places or people he describes. For example, when Marlow is first presenting his idea to go to Africa on a steamboat, Marlow states, "“You understand it was a Continental concern, that Trading society; but I have a lot of relations living on the Continent, because it's cheap and not so nasty as it looks, they say" (Conrad 11). Marlow is employing litotes when referring to Britain with a double negative: not so nasty. By doing so, he brings attention to this statement. While Britain is often described as great or other such terms, Marlow uses litotes to emphasize that many, including him, believe it to be nasty while still stating what others have said. Conrad uses litotes to bring the impurity of imperialism to the forefront of the language.
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