Heart Of Darkness By Joseph Conrad

One of the most reoccuring themes in the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, is the theme of race, more specifically, racism by the European and American characters towards the African characters. Critics of the book condemn Conrad as being racist, while others claim that it is just representative of the time period and that how Conrad depicted certain characters and groups within the novel was not uncommon during the time period that the book was written. Published in 1899, at that time it was not unusual for white people to have racist views towards people of other races. Whether or not Conrad was aware that some of the statements made in the book were racist and whether or not he actually intended for race to play as such a large

After the publishing of Chinua Achebe’s review on Heart of Darkness, in which Achebe infamously claims the book’s author, Joseph Conrad, is a “bloody racist”, famous Conrad scholar Cedric Watts publishes his own article, defending Conrad and his novel. Essentially claiming Conrad was not a racist, in his article “‘A Bloody Racist’: About Achebe’s view of Conrad”, Watts argues that the novel, in reality, debunks racial myths, and exhibits a level of liberalism that should be applauded, and not reprimanded. What Watts fails to notice is that Achebe never denies the existence of some sort of liberalism; instead, what Achebe does is criticize the form in which that liberalism was portrayed. Watts’ critique to Achebe, as a result, appears shorthanded.

Filled with an enigmatic darkness, Heart of Darkness is layered with a very detailed blend of character development involving personality changes and an obvious plethora of racist ideologies. The way in which Conrad writes allows the reader to find a rather interesting and even exciting read. The story itself is filled with rich detail to provoke imagery. Symbolism and allegory can be found everywhere in the novel, focusing largely on the inherent darkness that surrounds and possibly influence us. Heart of Darkness is a classic that we should use to teach. Of course racism makes up the novel in of itself, but the imagery and detail that Conrad is able to evoke can offset the racism. The novel can be compared to that of Sherlock Holmes – both cause the reader to yearn to unravel the mysteries within them – a great piece of literature. Conrad’s work should not be completely lost or forgotten – being taught in schools could be the perfect case for its use.

In the essay An image of Africa: Racism in heart of darkness by Chinua Achebe he also argues that Conrad is a racist by pointing out parts of Heart of Darkness. On the last page of his essay Achebe writes “ Conrad saw and condemned the evil of imperial exploitation but was strangely unaware of the racism on which it sharpened its iron tooth.” I find this quote to coincide with the argument of my essay, this is an interesting thought because there is no doubt in my mind that conrad is racist but maybe he is painfully unaware of his own

Racism is incredibly evident to readers in Joseph Conrad's famous novel, Heart of Darkness. Readers are able to easily identify the repulsive treatment of African Americans through protagonist character Marlow's eyes. Many are repelled by the incredibly grotesque description of the native Africans as "savages". However, the underlying theme of sexism is often overlooked in Conrad's writing. He uses his characters to express his own opinions on a woman's place in society-or lack thereof. Though this book was written over 100 years ago, it is incredibly ironic how relevant this trend is to-day. Present-day America pushes so hard to distance itself from racial prejudices-whereas prejudices against women are not only frequently recurring in society,

Achebe comments on Conrad’s work as a hidden product of racism because criticisms for Heart of Darkness

Chinua Achebe, a well-known writer, once gave a lecture at the University of Massachusetts about Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, entitled "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." Throughout his essay, Achebe notes how Conrad used Africa as a background only, and how he "set Africa up as a foil to Europe,"(Achebe, p.251) while he also "projects the image of Africa as 'the other world,' the antithesis of Europe and therefore of civilization."(Achebe, p.252) By his own interpretations of the text, Achebe shows that Conrad eliminates "the African as a human factor," thereby "reducing Africa to the role of props."(Achebe, p.257)

Through contemplation of Joseph Conrad’s complex descriptions and ideas of life in Africa, or the heart of darkness, it can be established that he is, in fact, not racist. Conrad was simply expressing the dark, uncivilized manners of the African people to contrast the light European hoi polloi and the unfair dehumanization of slaves in his time period.

In the story Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad a sailor decides to travel to Africa on a whim, using family connections he enlists as the captain of a ship travelling up the Congo River. The novella provides many themes, however is the text in itself racist? One of the main concepts portrayed in Heart of Darkness is the treatment of the natives of Africa and their image. This is most commonly shown through the disparity of the image between what is said in the novel and what can be read through subtext.

A fierce Achebe radically condemns Conrad as "a thoroughgoing racist" in his article, arguing that Heart of Darkness is not a piece of great literature, but "an offensive and deplorable book" (Achebe 1791). He structures his argument around a few central ideas, such as the grotesque perception of the Africans by the protagonist, the antinomy between the Thames and Congo River, the lack of historical fact, and the parallel between the African and the European women, among others.

Racism is a horror within itself. The racism portrayed in the Congo shows the association of horror and the Dark Continent. The racism in the novella goes to an extent of referring to the Africans as being dehumanized. As Europeans refer to the African’s mainly as savages, there are many other horrific names throughout Heart of Darkness that these African’s can be associated with, such as, “niggers” (Conrad 86), and “black shadows of disease and starvation” (Conrad 84). They were also represented as, “a lot of people, mostly black and naked, moved about like ants” (Conrad 82), “savage discords” (Conrad 112) and when talked about, referred as, “a nigger being beaten nearby” (Conrad 93). “I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs we like knots in a rope; each had an iron collar on his neck, and all were connected together

Many critics, including Chinua Achebe in his essay "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness", have made the claim that Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness, despite the insights which it offers into the human condition, ought to be removed from the canon of Western literature. This claim is based on the supposition that the novel is racist, more so than other novels of its time. While it can be read in this way, it is possible to look under the surface and create an interpretation of Conrad's novel that does not require the supposition of extreme racism on the part of Conrad. Furthermore, we must keep in mind that Conrad was a product of a rather racist period in history, and

The very nature of the book is crawling with dehumanizing and objectifying remarks. Achebe had successfully argued his point of the racism in Conrad, but he had failed with the addition of an extra remark. The fact that he dissociates “Heart of Darkness” from great art is the flaw in his argument. Ideology and art should not associate each other with the objective decision in deciding if some art is great art. Everyone is entitled to their personal decision for liking art, but this subjective conclusion should not invade the objective resolution of the greater classification of

Achebe passionately believes that the book is racist and the writer of it is to. He thinks the book should not be taught and analyzed in learning centers anymore. He has expressed his thoughts through lecters and pieces of writing or interviews. One of the pieces of work is An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness where he clearly shows his opinions and gives evidence for it. Something that he used for a quote from the book that clearly shows the racism is, “We are accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there-there you could look at a thing monstrous and free. It was unearthly and the men were-No, they were not inhuman.”. That quote shows the racism that is in Heart of Darkness about how he explains Africans. The writer uses very strong words by explaining Africans as “monster” and throughout the book he says similar things. He portrays characters in a way that the white men are above the black and also how he uses no Africans as main character. He just uses them as a backdrop for the story, Achebe also made that point in his writing. The racism is clearly shown throughout the

Chinua Achebe says that Conrad does "not hint, clearly and adequately at an alternative frame of reference by which we may judge the actions and opinions of his characters." Achebe says that Marlow is saying Conrad’s thoughts and believes. Those who think that “Heart of Darkness” is racist, say that many books of the time period are influenced by experiences of the author. This novel says that the Africans are savages and are good for nothing unless there is a white man to rule over them. In response to this statement Chinua Achebe has written “Things Fall Apart”. This novel shows that the Africans not only have order in their communities, but family, music, economy, laws, a class system, religion, farming techniques, and is a patriarchy system, like the Europeans. But Achebe doesn’t present his culture as a perfect society, like Europe is presented. He shows the flaws in society