Things Fall Apart Rhetorical Analysis

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.

In the article "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness," Chinua Achebe criticizes Joseph Conrad for his racist views toward the natives of Africa. After one reads Achebe’s critique, it is clear that Conrad wanted the novella to be perceived as a racist text. Conrad depicts the uncivilized treatment of nonwhites during the period of colonization without condemning such actions. After analyzing Achebe’s famous work and Conrad’s novella I have come to agree with Achebe; Conrad “was a thoroughgoing racist.” (Achebe) Heart of Darkness portrays this position clearly. Throughout the novella, Conrad describes and represents the Africans and Africa itself in a racist way. According to Chinua Achebe, the harsh behavior of English people towards the natives, the lack of equality felt by the English towards the Africans, and the word choices of the English to and about the savages reveal Conrad's racist position in the work.

From the first chapter, I found it particularly interesting when the narrator says, “she was so evidently the victim of the civilization which had produced her, that the links of her bracelet seemed like manacles chaining her to her fate” (page 8). So right from the first chapter we get an idea of the kind of society they are in, one that is mostly about money equating to power. The bracelet being a chain shows how imprisoned not only her but other women feel in that society, how they must be constantly dolled up, and if they can’t do it all themselves then that’s when they go get married (page 13). The bracelet is this constantly reminder that she, and women, are not free individuals but prisoners of society. The need to be pretty and fancy for others to see worth shows this idea of social expectations, or even social determinism.

Achebe argues that the racist observed in the Heart of Darkness is expressed due to the western psychology or as Achebe states “desire,” this being to show Africa as an antithesis to Europe. He first states Conrad as “one of the great stylists of modern fiction.” [pg.1] He praises Conrad’s talents in writing but believes Conrad’s obvious racism has not been addressed. He later describes in more detail that

   Chinua Achebe challenges Joseph Conrad's novella depicting the looting of Africa, Heart of Darkness (1902) in his essay "An Image of Africa" (1975). Achebe's is an indignant yet solidly rooted argument that brings the perspective of a celebrated African writer who chips away at the almost universal acceptance of the work as "classic," and proclaims that Conrad had written "a bloody racist book" (Achebe 319). In her introduction in the Signet 1997 edition, Joyce Carol Oates writes, "[Conrad's] African natives are "dusty niggers," cannibals." Conrad [...] painfully reveals himself in such passages, and numerous others, as an unquestioning heir of centuries of Caucasian bigotry" (Oates 10). The

The author of the novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe, asserts that Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, portrays Africa as the antitheses and foil to Europe. I disagree with Achebe’s claim. As I have read Heart of Darkness, that is not the tone or mood that I sense. I see a man who wants more in life, but finds himself in the midst of a possible conspiracy. One example of this is in paragraph 2 on page 8, “I felt somehow I must get there by hook or by crook.” This quote supports my position of disagreeing with Achebe’s claim that Conrad’s novel subtly displays Africa as the antithesis and foil to Europe by explaining that Marlow was a driven man with the self-motivation to get anywhere he wanted in life. He didn’t concern himself with other

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)

Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness, effectively exposed the racism that was common during his lifetime. Through the harsh behavior and word choice of the characters and narrator, Conrad displays the uncivilized treatment of nonwhites that occurred during the period of colonization. Edward Garnett, an English writer and critic, summarized the plot of Heart of Darkness as being “an impression… of the civilizing methods of a certain great European Trading Company face to face with the “nigger” (145 Heart of darkness backgrounds and Criticisms). Conrad use of harsh language and terrifying situations, which were based off of his own experiences, capture the audience’s attention and helps them see the cruelty of the European

Achebe levels accusations towards Heart of Darkness: the work seeks to justify or somehow redeem European imperialism, otherises Africans to foil and idealize westerners, Joseph Conrad, himself, and was a “thoroughgoing racist.” Finally, Achebe questions its prevalence in American universities. Why Achebe thinks Conrad’s work is racist and has any goals of justifying imperialism lies in his over simplification of the text and Marlow’s voice as narrator. It is most present when Achebe claims Conrad chose a narrator who is not be at odds with the audience. Achebe Claims, “He chose the role of purveyor of comforting myths.” This is possibly the epicenter of Achebe’s misunderstanding, because everything about Marlow is quite unsettling to the audience. Marlow is perpetually discontented by the absurdities that he lives under, and his narrative voice does everything within its power to take to task the “comforting myths” of his audience. If one were to miss this however, it may be easy to see how the work could be miss-characterized. For example, Marlow precedes north along the coast of Africa where he comes upon a French Man-Of-War that seems to be firing aimlessly into the jungle while her own men die of sickness at a rate of three a day. If someone were to read this as a comforting myth in support of imperial policies they will be quite confused. Interpreting this as intending to show the futility and

The plot of the novella Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad centers around a seafarer named Marlow and his journey up the Congo River and his exploits there during a time of imperialism. Once Marlow joins the Company as a captain for a ship heading to the Congo to trade, he encounters instances of oppression of the African natives by members of the Company. This character narrates the majority of the novel and often takes on the role of a passive observer, although he sometimes gives his input on the situation. In recent years, the state of Marlow and even Conrad’s opinions on race have been questioned due to the thematic element of oppression of blacks by whites presented in this work. Though many believe Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad to be a novel with racist undertones and an offensive view of African imperialism, it illustrates the discovery of a new world and new people by Europeans in the 19th century with an impressionist take as opposed to a racist one.

Joseph Conrad often mocked the African peoples. In his novel, Heart of Darkness, he referred to the African people as “savages” and used strong language that looked down upon them. Conrad describes a passing native, “They passed me within six inches, without a glance, with that complete, deathlike indifference of unhappy savages.” Conrad depicts the Africans in very vivid descriptions and uses negative language with an almost disgusted tone. He sees the Africans as inhuman, feels they are not civilized, and believes himself to be far more superior than them. Conrad does not bother to try and understand their culture or language. He insults their language and believes it is merely just incomprehensible grunts. Conrad remarks that looking at an African “was as edifying as seeing a dog in a parody of breeches and a feather hat, walking on his hind legs.” The comparison he uses is very insulting to the African people and so degrading that Conrad found an African working as so surprising. He was taken away that an African could be civilized and Conrad was just mocking the natives. By using such cynical language, Conrad changes what the readers think of Africans to become negative. This view of African peoples from Conrad contrasts Achebe’s perspective of African peoples and their lives which was more influenced by his own race, culture, and beliefs just as Conrad’s novel was.

Chinua Achebe argues that African society is commonly misrepresented or misunderstood. Things Fall Apart, Achebe’s novel, aims to properly illustrate the daily life of native Africans and the eventual destruction of their society as a result of European colonization. Likewise, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness also depicts the effects of European imperialism in the Congo. The novels differ in that Heart of Darkness follows the story of Charles Marlow, a European, while Things Fall Apart focuses on the history of Okonkwo, an Igbo warrior. Both novels impart the negative consequences of colonization, yet propose alternate reasons for the issues that arise. Because there are underlying social complexities in colonization, and because the authors view the context of colonization differently, Achebe believes there are no grounds for Europeans to colonize Africa due to its detrimental ramifications for Africans, whereas Conrad believes the colonization of Africa should not take place because it is not beneficial to the colonizers.

In Chinua Achebe’s essay, “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad 's Heart of Darkness,” Achebe purports that Joseph Conrad’s short story, Heart of Darkness, should not be taught due to it’s racist caricature of Africa and African culture. In Conrad’s book, Marlow, a sea captain, is tasked with venturing into the center of the Congo, otherwise known as the Heart of Darkness, to retrieve a mentally unstable ivory trader named Kurtz. Marlow narrates his adventures with a tinge of apathy for the enslaved Congolese who are repressed beneath the foot of the colonizing Belgians. In Heart of Darkness, the Africans are reduced to “savages” and cannibals with little or no moral values. It is Achebe’s argument that due to these characterizations, it is an abomination that Heart of Darkness be continued to be taught. Despite Achebe’s vehement opposition to the teaching of Conrad’s novel, academics should not only continue to teach Heart of Darkness in a lyrical sense, but also a historical one.

Joseph Conrad was huge on attacking the topic of racism , which was a problem associated with this novel during this time period . Shockingly, racism was mostly looked over by other critics. This was due to how racism was interpreted and defined as in 1902 . The meaning of racism has changed over time . During this time period, racism, the word itself, wasn't in existence . However, that does not mean that racism didn’t occur during that time . In fact , racial tensions were so common that the actual word racism wasn't used because it wasn't necessary. Chinua Achebe writes a strong critique explaining his opposing thoughts against the Heart of Darkness and proving that point. Achebe believes that Joseph Conrad was in fact a racist, and he also believes that a novel that depersonalizes the human race shouldn’t even be in the running to be called a great novel . He states that the simple truth should not be overlooked in other criticisms. Achebe explains

Joseph Conrad wrote the book Heart of Darkness supporting a single story about the African people, not at all close to the truth, causing Chinua Achebe to create Things Fall Apart to directly counteract the negative effects of the false images Conrad illustrates. Both Conrad and Achebe write stories about how white men enter the living areas of African tribes and what happens, but Achebe writes his book in a way where you see the African as actual people. Conrad suggests that the Africans are people of lower intelligences and a savage mindset, but this is not the case at all, in reality they are the people Achebe shows them as, smart intelligent people that live in structured societies.