Racial Comments in Joseph Conrad´s Heart of Darkness Essay

In "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness," Chinua Achebe criticizes Joseph Conrad for his racist stereotypes towards the continent and people of Africa. He claims that Conrad propagated the "dominant image of Africa in the Western imagination" rather than portraying the continent in its true form (1793). Africans were portrayed in Conrad's novel as savages with no language other than grunts and with no "other occupations besides merging into the evil forest or materializing out of it simply to plague Marlow" (1792-3). To Conrad, the Africans were not characters in his story, but merely props. Chinua Achebe responded with a

This reveals the author’s intolerance towards the Africans, making it clear that he views the Africans from the perspective of an outsider who is unfamiliar with tribal customs. Along his journey, Conrad notices a “stillness of life” and acknowledges that in other circumstances this would have a peaceful effect (Conrad); however, due to his unfamiliar surroundings and fear of the unknown, he finds the stillness threatening and foreboding. Overall, Conrad conveys a message to the reader that Africa is uncivilized and inferior to other societies.

It makes no sense for Achebe to stretch his information so far to come to this conclusion. It also makes no sense for Achebe to question Conrad’s description of the continent while Conrad has made the trip into the country. Achebe says, “I will not accept just any traveler’s tales solely on the grounds that I have not made the journey myself” (7). Achebe has never been to the Congo like Conrad has, yet he has the audacity to question what Conrad witnessed there while Achebe’s father was a baby. Achebe accuses Conrad of depicting Africa incorrectly without having ever having stepped foot into the continent, which makes him even more clueless to the Africa of Conrad’s age. He declares that Conrad of making Africans seem more savage than they actually were, while unable to even imagine how they were so long ago. Achebe charges Conrad with racism and ignorance while completely dismissing his own. Although Achebe is a celebrated author, at many points during this essay his arguments are weak, even pathetic because of the irrational conclusions that he comes to. This gives a preview to the carelessness of his essay that becomes evident upon further inspection.

If you view Africa as a whole, both blacks and whites should be viewed the same. Mr. Kurtz, being an example, can also be viewed as a cannibal as it is strongly believed by the Company that he has become a savage, like the Africans. My point being that the blacks confining from eating humans, does not show Conrad’s as a racist but quite the contrary. Mr. Kurtz’s involvement of the African customs and beliefs

   The novella Heart of Darkness has, since it's publication in 1899, caused much controversy and invited much criticism. While some have hailed it's author, Joseph Conrad as producing a work ahead of it's time in it's treatment and criticism of colonialist practices in the Congo, others, most notably Chinua Achebe, have criticized it for it's racist and sexist construction of cultural identity. Heart of Darkness can therefore be described as a text of it's time, as the cultural identity of the dominant society, that is, the European male is constructed in opposition to "the other", "the other" in Heart of Darkness being defined as black and/or female. Notions of cultural

Achebe also criticises Conrad’s lack of language for his African characters as dehumanising in its attempt to strip the characters of respectable voices by instead describing their language as “animalistic grunts” and “cries”. The few instances within the novel where an African character speaks English are described by Achebe as deliberate in their insinuation that the African people are unintelligent and illiterate. Achebe again contrasts Conrad’s use of Africa as a place of “dehumanisation” as alienating the African people rather than inspiring inhumanity in the white colonialists that have travelled there. While many readers would agree with the failed attempt at the exploration of racism, one must contend that writing about something does not necessarily remove it from criticism and as such when reading Heart of Darkness one can gather the inklings of prejudice weaved within the text by an author who is known for racist values. While the text is deserving of appreciation, as for some it is deemed a literary masterpiece, one cannot ignore the racist undertones of the novel as it is clear that Conrad has prejudices towards Africa and her people and that these feelings were intertwined into the plot. Conrad’s main characters all have some racist values ranging from blissful ignorance to downright hatred to the African people and in

Chinua Achebe creates a strong argument against Joseph Conrad, attempting to point out the racism innate within Conrad's "Heart of Darkness. In Achebe's essay, he explicitly said, "Joseph Conrad was a thoroughgoing racist" (343). Achebe depicts the narration, and setting of "Heart of Darkness" to further prove his point. But, he falls short in one aspect of his argument, when he decides to declassify "Heart of Darkness" as a great work of art.

Conrad's novella a illustrates how race and race hatred corrupt human virtue and complicate our search for goodness in the world and in ourselves. In this sense, Achebe is right: Conrad's writing in Heart of Darkness is a form of racism.

“An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness”. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. New York: Norton Print.

Racism is still a problem today, even though it has changed over time. In the past, it was more open and something that was normal. Now, there are less people who are racist, or, those who are racist have just gotten better at hiding their thoughts and changing their words so that they seem like normal comments. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the main character, Marlow, journeys the Congo and describes what he sees. In a response to Heart of Darkness, Chinua Achebe wrote “‘An Image of Africa’: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness”. Here, he explains his views on what Conrad wrote and what he thinks it means. One of Achebe’s famous novels was Things Fall Apart, based in a

Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, debated amongst many scholars, is considered one of the best short stories of the twentieth century. Yet the novella’s racism, perennial stereotypes and neglect to emphasize the diverse culture and people of Africa should be addressed. The novella will continue to present the stereotype of Africa as primeval and homogenous , negatively affecting the world’s perception of the

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

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.

The themes of racism and discrimination against the people living in Africa (Congo) are present in the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. There have been many discussions about whether Marlow (the main character and narrator) and Conrad are the same person and the literary critics are still at war regarding this question. There are some who claim that Conrad is a "bloody racist" for his "white racism against Africa" . First of all, Africa is presented as an . Secondly, the people are described as animals, savages, with no rights whatsoever, as compared to their sophisticated British fellows whose only aim is to "educate and civilize them". Moreover, the natives are totally dehumanized by not having even proper names and therefore they

One of the blinding factors of society in the novel is Racism. Throughout the novel racism is omnipresent although it may not be explicitly stated, within the characters in the novel. The African’s were depicted in a degrading tone, they were spoken down to, bossed around and portrayed as savages which is something Chenua Achebe, a Nigerian novelist, touches upon in his essay -“ An Image of Africa: Racism in ‘Heart of Darkness”, where he describes the many ways Conrad dehumanizes, insults and uses racial slurs against Africans. Achebe states: