Discuss your views on the racism inherent (or not) in Conrad's novella. What implications does this have for reading, teaching, and its place in the canon?
In my opinion, racism is something which is a persistent problem that the human race will always be faced with. Humans will always looks to persecute other humans whether it be for differences in opinion, religion, or the color of one's skin. In Heart of Darkness, racism becomes and issue with the description of the native Africans as "beasts," "savages," and frequently "niggers." This is viewed as extremely racist when examining it from our modern day standards. However, I believe that the reader must not get too caught up in the racism as he/she peruses this novel. By reading it through a lens which views all the elements as racist, one fails to see how the novel could perhaps be simply written using the dialect of the time period or even be a novel written against racism. Reading a novel utilizing any lens damages the reader by making him/her read in a close-minded manner. Furthermore, I believe that the racist elements are a powerful tool for any teacher to harness when teaching this novel to a class. If the class is mature enough to have an open discussion about the racist elements in the novel, they can dive deep into the inner meanings and symbols which can be uncovered when analyzing the novel. Overall, I can see how this novel could be deemed as racist, but I believe that by acknowledging the possibility of this novel being racist or even anti-racist is something which catalyzes discussion and further debate, thus leading to further thought and complex conclusions.
It is unfortunate how our society is so focused on finding the flaws within others. Instead of reading a work and evaluating it accordingly we instead choose to bash it without giving it the benefit of the doubt. Conrad lived in a time when racism was a far more prevalent thing. That is the way most cultures behaved and believed during the time period that the story takes place yet modern readers criticize it based on current standards. Readers should take into consideration how the world has changed and refrain from casting judgement on the author when they are just writing based off their environment.
ReplyDeleteAs AP literature students, we are often instructed to read materials without biographical or historical context, but rather study the language itself. In this case, HOD is incredibly racist but also well written. If we do fulfill our urge to further contextualize the work, we can be less distracted by the racism and more focused on the work itself. The racism is the basis for the suspense, mystery, and awe that surrounds the characters and drives the plot, but it is not a blatant attempt to incite hate or prejudice, it is simply a reflection of a man who reflects and era.
ReplyDelete