Friday, March 27, 2015
Heart of Darkness: Prompt #9
In Conrad's novella, there is a great amount of realism that plays into the storyline. This is mostly because of the fact that Heart of Darkness is based off of Conrad's own experiences in the Congo. So because of the realism being worked into the narrative, intentional or not, there is a realistic amount of racist content. For the time period, the racism is actually relatively tame. However, this can only be determined after the story is looked at in the context of the time period it takes place in. If many of the events in the novel that dehumanize the natives are taken out of the context, the novella appears to be incredibly racist. As for teaching on it, I think that someone who plans to teach on the story should remind those who are reading it that the novel is based off of a real life experience to avoid any confusion as to if the novel is actually promoting racism. Racism was and still is something that exists in this world and it shows in the works of art that are produced to reflect the world we live in. So to be completely realistic in a story like Heart of Darkness, things like racism must be included.
I agree with what you say about Conrad’s novella not being a racist book in context. I also think the book shows a great deal of prejudice toward the Europeans in the novel as well. Realism is the main reason the racism in the story should not be taken so seriously. For the novel to have any sort of impact at all, the racism had to be included. That is not to say racism is not a serious topic of concern, but this book shows the true nature and cruelty of people.
ReplyDeleteI think it is evidence enough that Conrad was probably racist, not because of HOD, but just given the fact that he was a British Man born in the 19th century. Although the subject matter of the novella brings racism to the forefront of the plot necessarily, I do not believe its literary merit should be based on the content and attitudes of the author. If this were true, we could raise issue with almost any work that was published before our era, and skewer it for its lack of political correctness. when it comes to literature and what is acceptable, it's all or nothing. Nothing in our society, especially from such an intellectual and academic background, should overwhelmingly offend our sensibilities.
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