Throughout the novel Conrad tends to degrade the
natives. He makes them seem inhuman and unearthly. Discuss the effect this has
on characterization in the novel.
Heart of Darkness was
written in 1899 by Joseph Conrad in a time where Africa and its labyrinthine
Congo were native to many Europeans. Chinua Achebe remarked in “An Image of
Africa” that “Marlow comes through to us…holding those advanced and humane
views appropriate to the English liberal tradition which required all
Englishmen of decency to be deeply shocked by atrocities in Blugaria or the
Congo of King Leopald.” When one looks at the novella from a historical
perspective, Conrad’s comments were rather normal for the time. His descriptive
nature of writing creates dark images which many remark as being “dehumanizing”
yet at the time Conrad was illustrating not only his personal perception of his
travel but that of a decent Englishmen. His moral compass did not detect the degradation
of native beings as being wrong.
For readers who seek to
understand the historical context of this text, Conrad’s observations were
those of a highly descriptive Englishmen with little concern or knowledge for
the twenty-first century’s perception of “racist” remarks. He did not seek to
degrade the natives more than society perceived them as being at the time.
However, if one fails to recognize the context of the novella, Conrad’s descriptive
nature quickly turns “racist.” His use of “nigger” is offensive to many
individuals and creates a negative connotation for the novella as a whole. An overall
understanding of the context and purpose of writing this novella creates
multiple characterizations for various individuals.
I agree. I didn't think the novel was racist as much as a product of its time. Not that that makes racism acceptable. I just mean to say that it really would not have made sense for all of the characters in the book to treat the natives as equal. And perhaps even the racism in the book helps contribute to the novel. After all, Kurtz could not have become who he is without subjecting the natives to awful treatment. And this may even contribute to the title—showing the evil of the Europeans. Maybe this is the heart of darkness because it is where people’s evil is allowed to exist.
ReplyDeleteThis was very well written, and I agree with Will's statement that even though it is a product of the time period, it does not make racism acceptable. Part of what helps the character development in the novel is the evil and cruelty in their hearts and the racism in this novel exemplifies this. It also is a reflection for the reader because while racism is less tolerated today, there is still some racist in all of us. We are quick to see it in history, but fail to see it I ourselves. It makes me wonder how people a hundred years from now will few us through the historical lens. Will what we call normal today be called racist? It is a very thought provoking question.
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly with your rebuttal to Chinua Achebe’s remarks on the views of Joseph Conrad. When taken out of context, the comments made throughout the book are entirely deplorable, especially in today’s time. However, this book was written at a time that racism was acceptable, if not the social norm for entitled white Europeans. Although this belief was not okay then and is not okay now, this context provides the reader with the insight that racism was not Conrad’s focus for the book. The racist comments he made, although crude and disrespectful, were simply side comments, and although it is difficult to separate these comments from the theme of the novel, they are not the focus of it.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't ever think we will be able to escape the confines of racism. It is a plague humanity will always have to battle as we use are eyes to determine most of our thoughts. Daily we define people, places, and objects as good or bad, as pretty or ugly. Therefore, I think that is why so many people find offense with Heart of Darkness. We look at the text from the eyes that we always look around with. While this causes problems when we impose new ideas on older text, I think it also shows something beautiful that we often forget about...Human Growth. It gives us hope that we do grow as a species
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