Racism_in_Joseph_Conrad's_Heart_of_Darkness

Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Originally published over one hundred years ago, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, a novella that exposes the effects of colonialism in the heart of Africa, is just as shocking now as it was then. Chinua Achebe, a distinguished Nigerian critic, harshly criticizes Conrad’s racism in the book, which he feels has been ignored by other critics in favor of glowing praise for Conrad’s vivid imagery and honesty. Heart of Darkness is still highly-discussed and taught to young, impressionable minds in schools; this, Achebe fears, is the main issue. The praise Heart of Darkness has always received is a sign of people’s acceptance of blatant racism. He brings light to Conrad’s prejudice in his essay “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness” by discussing Conrad’s de-humanization of the African setting, and the effect that Africa has had on the mentality of white men like Kurtz. At first glance, it seems as if the African setting of Heart of Darkness is essential to the story, and an important part of the plot; after all, the aim of the novel is to expose the harsh cruelties of European influence in Africa, a continent largely ignored preceding the age of Colonialism. However, Achebe claims that Conrad uses Africa merely as “a setting and backdrop which eliminates the African as human factor” (Achebe 343), and attributes no real importance the cultural aspects of the region. Conrad manages to strip Africa of any emotional setting, and makes it into a simple, chaotically painted yet unremarkable backdrop for the vivid drama of Conrad’s story. Aside from a brief comparison between the Congo and the Thames River, Conrad fails to mention any other recognizable aspects of Africa. His diction, which induces “hypnotic stupor in his readers through a bombardment of emotive words” (Achebe 338), establishes a dream-like mood for Marlow’s entire voyage. Eagle-eyed Achebe is conscientious of Conrad’s tricks, and says he uses Africa “as a metaphysical battlefield devoid of all recognizable humanity” (Achebe 344). After a relatively clearly-written dialogue between two men at the Station, Conrad launches into a mind-numbing description of the mystical jungle. The air is “warm, thick, heavy, sluggish” in “an empty stream, a great silence, an impenetrable forest” (Conrad 73). The voyager would feel himself “bewitched and cut off forever from everything you had known once… amongst the overwhelming realities of this strange world of plants, and water, and silence” (Conrad 74). Conrad’s Africa has nothing to do with the rich culture and art of the African people. In fact, Conrad’s Africa is made into a dream, a place more reminiscent of a nightmare than a country. Conrad’s racism is also evident, although subtly, in his descriptions of Kurtz. Before coming to Africa, Kurtz was a successful young man, gloriously setting out for Africa. He had a faithful and loving fiancée waiting for him in Europe, and Kurtz had grand plans for Africa. From Marlow’s story, the reader can get a glimpse of the gradual development of Kurtz in Africa; at first an adventuresome young European man, Kurtz has become a slightly insane semi-native, crawling out to sacrifices in the middle of the night while ill. This gradual development shows Conrad’s opinion of Africa; the only possible outcome of a man enclosed in the heart of Africa, the heart of darkness, is one similar to that of Kurtz. In fact, Conrad’s view can simply be expressed in one thing that Kurtz utters; “The horror! The horror!” (Conrad 129). After all that Kurtz can see, it is the only thing he can say, the last bit of absolute truth he expresses before breathing his last. Through Conrad’s treatment of the African setting and jungle, as well as the effects of the African darkness on Kurtz, one can see Conrad’s underlying racism. Still used in schools to teach students, Heart of Darkness is subtly teaching youth to be racist. Word Count: 594 Works Cited Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: Barnes and Noble Books