Achebe vs. Conrad in "Heart of Darkness"

Achebe vs. Conrad in “Heart of Darkness”

by Melanie Cole

Chinua Achebe, a prominent and important writer of the 21st century was none-too- pleased with Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness. In his fiery rebuttal to Conrad’s depiction of African tribal people, Achebe exposes Conrad’s faults in his most famous work, which is considered a classic in Western literature. In his essay, Achebe explains and demonstrates the different points in the novella in which Conrad fails in his portrayal of native Africans in the Congo. Heart of Darkness, written in 1898, is often considered out of date and misinterpreted by modern scholars. Although, Achebe himself wrote An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness sometime around the late 1970s-1980s, he pinpoints the fact that racism at any time, in any place, is still racism. With the use of background experience, plain facts, and important quotes from Conrad’s work, Achebe uses his essay on racism to expose the unexplored- and often disregarded- side of Heart of Darkness.

In Heart of Darkness, the character of Marlow is first introduced to Africa on a “trade” trip to the Congo with his Belgian trading company. As a main dependent on a

trade steamship, Marlow is not considered ignorant in the eyes of his English social

contemporaries. Although one of the main themes in Conrad’s novella is the hypocrisy of imperialism and colonial expansion, Conrad fails to go beyond those terms. He expresses his personal racist views in Heart of Darkness, with his descriptions of African tribal people, the Congo environment and white superiority of his trade companions over the indigenous population. In one particular excerpt, possibly considered one of the most famous taken from the novella, Conrad writes, “It was unearthly, and the men were—No, they were not inhuman. Well, you know, that was the worst of it—the suspicion of their not being inhuman. It would come slowly to one. They howled and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces; but what thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity—like yours—the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar. Ugly.” Such quotes reoccur throughout the work- the African natives are often referred to in derogatory terms or masked as black, dark, almost invisible. In response to this particular quote, Achebe writes, “Herein lies the meaning of Heart of Darkness and the fascination it holds over the Western mind: ‘What thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity — like yours .... Ugly.’” Here, Achebe is directly exposing what he believes to be one of the worst faults of white, WASP, Western society. Explaining that just the thought of someone of “savagery,” and someone who is considered so “uncivilized,” could in a way, have some sort of human connection to people of status and class is absolutely absurd! An air of racist feelings is presented throughout the novella, leaving Achebe very upset.

The contrast between Achebe’s perception of African tribal people and Conrad’s perception of African tribal people is vast. Although he was raised in an African tribal lifestyle, Conrad was said to have journeyed to the Congo himself around 1880. Cultural perceptions of people and their practices is a debate that can never really be won. Achebe expresses that Heart of Darkness has elements of great writing and themes, and he praises Conrad for that. In contrast, Conrad’s novella also presents a distinguished look at the terrors of imperialism and colonial expansion. Conrad’s novel is considered a great classic, while Achebe’s works are often classified as “undiscovered genius.” In the end, Achebe exposes racism in an anti-imperialist and anti-supremacist novel, and Conrad tells the tale of a horrific and unjust time period in English colonial history.

Bookmark/Search this post with:

 •    •    •    •    •