Conrads Heart of Darkness and the Dehumanization of...

Heart of Darkness and the Dehumanization of Africans The Western world, generally speaking, is not kind to Africa and its native inhabitants. We acknowledge Africas existence, but we do not want to see or understand anything about it beyond the obvious: overt things that are open to criticism like Apartheid (a European invention). The occasional praiseworthy entity is given momentary applause, but felicitations are short-lived and quickly forgotten. These statements refer just to politics, so one can imagine the rightful indignation by twentieth-century African writers when their work is largely ignored in favor of such enlightening fare as Heart of Darkness. One writer, Chinua Achebe, seeks to change this view by illustrating†¦show more content†¦Unfortunately for Achebe, many people still think of Africa as a shadowy place containing secret knowledge about the beginnings of mankind and how man would exist if he were not civilized. However, he does not let that stop him from doing his best in his novels to counter that suppos ition. Okonkwo is far from being a thing monstrous or an inhabitant of prehistoric earth . . . that wore the aspect of an unknown planet (Conrad 108). He is a complicated man living in a complicated society. He has faults, strengths, and desires, and he would hardly worship a Kurtz if one happened to show up in Umuofia one day. Yes, Okonkwo and his fellow Igbo have some strange customs, but as Achebe points out in his essay, Yonkers, New York, has its own share of strange customs and rituals that a stranger might find primitive on the surface (2). This information would come as no shock to many anthropologists, nor would it seem strange to others (except, perhaps, the residents of Yonkers), but it is the attitude of Westerners that really bothers Achebe, not the lack of information. The African is corrupt through and through . . . equality wont alter facts, (Achebe, NE 3). This is a prevalent sentiment among the white British in Nigeria in the 1950s. They bring formal education, equal status among whites and blacks, improved employment opportunities, Christianity,Show MoreRelatedHeart of Darkness971 Words   |  4 Pagesreally otherize, or impose racist ideology upon, the Africans in Heart of Darkness, or does Achebe merely see Conrad from the point of view of an African? Is it merely a matter of view point, or does there exist greater underlying meaning in the definition of racism? br2. How does Achebes personal history and the context in which he wrote An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrads Heart of Darkness reflect the manner in which he views Conrads idea of racism in the novel? br3. Taking into accountRead More An Image of Africa Essay1050 Words   |  5 PagesAn Image of Africa Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad has been depicted as â€Å"among the half-dozen greatest short novels in the English language.† [pg.1] Chinua Achebe believes otherwise. In Chinua Achebe’s An Image of Africa: Racism is Conrad’s Heart of Darkness he simply states that, â€Å"Joseph Conrad was a thoroughgoing racist† [pg.5] Achebe argues that the racist observed in the Heart of Darkness is expressed due to the western psychology or as Achebe states â€Å"desire,† this being to show AfricaRead MoreJoseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness1488 Words   |  6 PagesJoseph Conrad’s s novel Heart of Darkness portrays an image of Africa that is dark and inhuman. Not only does he describe the actual, physical continent of Africa as â€Å"so hopeless and so dark, so impenetrable to human thought, so pitiless to human weakness†, (Conrad 154) as though the continent could neither breed nor support any true human life. Conrad lived through a time when European colonies were scattered all over the world. This phenomenon and the doctrine of colonialism bought into at hisRead MoreThemes and Literary Techniqes Used in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness688 Words   |  3 PagesJoseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness A. Conrad’s Heart of Darkness has been criticized as a novel filled with blatant racism, because of its dehumanization of the Africans through name calling and portrayal of them as inhuman. I agree that the terms and wording of this novel are racist and very inappropriate for today’s world to use, but we have to remind ourselves of the time period in which this was written. Conrad’s use of racist remarks like â€Å"savages† and the â€Å"N† word to label the Africans in theRead MoreHeart of Darkness1699 Words   |  7 PagesThe immortality and blindness to a dark continent Joseph Conrad’s s novel â€Å"Heart of Darkness† portrays an image of Africa that is dark and inhuman. Not only does he describe the actual, physical continent of Africa as â€Å"so hopeless and so dark, so impenetrable to human thought, so pitiless to human weakness†, (Conrad 2180) as though the continent could neither breed nor support any true human life. Conrad lived through a time when European colonies were scattered all over the world. This phenomenonRead MoreJoseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness1198 Words   |  5 Pages Joseph Conrad, in his novel Heart of Darkness, comments on the nature of imperialism, the individual psyche, and the evil inherent in the human condition. Chinua Achebe, a contemporary literary critic, argues that as the protagonist, Marlow, travels through the Congo, Conrad maintains a Western imperialist attitude towards the African natives. According to the novel, the natives are a sort of animalistic backdrop, a part of a landscape to m erely house Kurtz and Marlow’s metaphysical battle. TheRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Heart Of Darkness 1571 Words   |  7 PagesThis highly symbolic story is actually a story within a story, or frame narrative. It follows Marlow as he recounts, from dusk through to late night, his adventure into the Congo to a group of men aboard a ship anchored in the Thames Estuary. Heart of Darkness explores the issues surrounding imperialism in complicated ways. As Marlow travels from the Outer Station to the Central Station and finally up the river to the Inner Station, he encounters scenes of torture, cruelty, and near-slavery. At theRead More The Meaning of Heart of Darkness in the Post-Colonial Climate3726 Words   |  15 PagesThe Meaning of Heart of Darkness in the Post-Colonial Climate Since its publication in 1899, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness has rarely been disputed on the basis of its literary merits; in fact, it was long seen as one of the great novels of the burgeoning modern era, a sort of bridge between the values and storytelling styles of the waning Victorian period and those of the modern era (Gatten), and regarded a high-ranking space amidst the great literature of the century, if not theRead MoreDr. Miller s Heart Of Darkness1936 Words   |  8 Pages Since the publication of Heart of Darkness, it has been the center of a great deal of controversy that revolves around its depiction of the natives of the continent of Africa at the height of European Imperialism. J. Miller argues that we must first read Heart of Darkness if we are to decide whether or not we should read Heart of Darkness. He also believes that Conrad himself is not racist, but rather he is ironically portraying the prevailing thought in Europe at the time of the novel. Chinua AchebeRead MoreAnalysis Of Marlow s Heart Of Darkness Essay2381 Words   |  10 Pagesâ€Å"And this also, said Marlow suddenly, ``has been one of the dark places of the Earth. (Conrad) Are the first words spoken aloud by Marlow in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Marlow goes on the say that he was thinking about the Roman conquerors who came to England 1900 years ago. This comparison that Marlow divulges into in the beginnings of his story frames this story and what it intends to cover in its subject matter. Marlow begins here his only overt characterization of imperialism.