Racism in Heart of Darkness
At the turn of the twentieth century when Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness was written and published, the mere concept of racism was non-existent. People could not fathom the vague concept of equality. There have been multiple arguments upon whether the author wrote this novella with racist intents and if Joseph Conrad was of these fundamentals himself. One of these critics being Chinua Achebe, considers Conrad to be a ‘thoroughgoing’ racist, and that Heart of Darkness is nothing but offensive. In Conrad’s era it was commonly believed that the people of Africa were almost inferior to the average European. Although Conrad may not believe this, this mindset justifies Conrad’s use of considered nowadays, offensive terms. And the reader should take into consideration of the authors time period. Chinua Achebe has not done this and has held this novella to modern standards making his accusations somewhat unrealistic. Achebe widely misunderstands the book, and uses passages in support of his claims, that actually show Marlow’s sympathy for the natives. Although Joseph Conrad’s beliefs may not meet modern standards, Achebe’s claims are illogical and Conrad is not a ‘thoroughgoing racist’, neither is Heart of Darkness a racist text.
As the novella progresses Marlow’s opinions and preconceived notions begin to deteriorate and he begins to develop his own opinions for these ‘savages’. For example, when Marlow’s steamboat is attacked as it approaches the inner station. The attacker’s fire small sticks at the ship but one spear strikes Marlow’s helmsman. Marlow describes finding a deep kinship with the African native who was trained to steer the steamboat. Marlow describes the relationship he had with his crewmate as “a subtle bond had been created of which I only became aware when it was suddenly broken. And that intimate profundity of that look he gave me when he received his hurt remains to this day in my memory. (Conrad Pg.51) This...