Is Joseph Conrad Racist Or Racist

Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness, effectively exposed the racism that was common during his lifetime. Through the harsh behavior and word choice of the characters and narrator, Conrad displays the uncivilized treatment of nonwhites that occurred during the period of colonization. Edward Garnett, an English writer and critic, summarized the plot of Heart of Darkness as being “an impression… of the civilizing methods of a certain great European Trading Company face to face with the “nigger” (145 Heart of darkness backgrounds and Criticisms). Conrad use of harsh language and terrifying situations, which were based off of his own experiences, capture the audience’s attention and helps them see the cruelty of the European

In "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness," Chinua Achebe criticizes Joseph Conrad for his racist stereotypes towards the continent and people of Africa. He claims that Conrad propagated the "dominant image of Africa in the Western imagination" rather than portraying the continent in its true form (1793). Africans were portrayed in Conrad's novel as savages with no language other than grunts and with no "other occupations besides merging into the evil forest or materializing out of it simply to plague Marlow" (1792-3). To Conrad, the Africans were not characters in his story, but merely props. Chinua Achebe responded with a

In the essay An image of Africa: Racism in heart of darkness by Chinua Achebe he also argues that Conrad is a racist by pointing out parts of Heart of Darkness. On the last page of his essay Achebe writes “ Conrad saw and condemned the evil of imperial exploitation but was strangely unaware of the racism on which it sharpened its iron tooth.” I find this quote to coincide with the argument of my essay, this is an interesting thought because there is no doubt in my mind that conrad is racist but maybe he is painfully unaware of his own

    Joseph Conrad’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 “so hopeless and so dark, so impenetrable to human thought, so pitiless to human weakness” (Conrad 94), as though the continent could neither breed nor support any true human life, but he also manages to depict Africans as though they are not worthy of the respect commonly due to the white man.  At one point the main character, Marlow, describes one of the paths he follows: “Can’t say I saw any road or any upkeep, unless the body of a middle-aged negro, with a bullet-hole in the forehead, upon which I

1. Does Conrad really "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?

Achebe argues that the racist observed in the Heart of Darkness is expressed due to the western psychology or as Achebe states “desire,” this being to show Africa as an antithesis to Europe. He first states Conrad as “one of the great stylists of modern fiction.” [pg.1] He praises Conrad’s talents in writing but believes Conrad’s obvious racism has not been addressed. He later describes in more detail that

Chinua Achebe, a well-known writer, once gave a lecture at the University of Massachusetts about Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, entitled "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." Throughout his essay, Achebe notes how Conrad used Africa as a background only, and how he "set Africa up as a foil to Europe,"(Achebe, p.251) while he also "projects the image of Africa as 'the other world,' the antithesis of Europe and therefore of civilization."(Achebe, p.252) By his own interpretations of the text, Achebe shows that Conrad eliminates "the African as a human factor," thereby "reducing Africa to the role of props."(Achebe, p.257)

In his famous critical essay, “An Image of Africa” (1975), Chinua Achebe takes a strong stance against Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. He asserts that Conrad was a racist and his novella is a product of his racism. A following quote that is good to show Achebe opinion for Conrad is:

Some questions that I would ask the main character, Jamal in “Boy Overboard”, could take forever to ask as there are so many plots, complications and situations in the heat of the moment that took place. The first question I would ask is what Jamal was feeling when he was separated with his parents as he was very young and didn’t know anyone or have anyone but your little sister, I know you were in shock as we, the readers could tell from your tone when the boat left and you couldn’t find your parents anywhere then finding Bibi sat in a corner in tears? Another question is when you were in Afghanistan, where you were playing soccer with your friends and Bibi came out of no where and surprised you, how did you feel about her coming out, because we know that the Afghanistan government doesn’t like seeing girls outside playing sports, especially soccer as it was “illegal” and that women/ girls should be staying inside as the Afghanistan government say?

The heart of darkness is a novella written by joseph Conrad that depicts the way many of the British imperialists dealt with the natives, how wealth and fortune triumphs over compassion and morality. Conrad’s work contains many forms of evidence proving the point that Conrad might have had some negatively charged racial views. In the novella Heart of Darkness Conrad uses the character of Marlow to express his views on the topic of racism. Conrad’s childhood shaped him for the rest of his life showing that it might have had some negative impacts on him. The views expressed were common for the time period.

Finally, the stereotypes can have an impact on one’s cultural identity, even on one’s values. The cartoon “Mulan” bases on traditional Chinese story that the Hua Mulan women joined the army in place of her father and triumphed in the end. Whether the typical Eastern characters or the display of Chinese ecological garden culture, the foreign audiences are brought into a real China. In the cartoon, the brown skin, thick lips and the apricot-like eyes of Mulan fit the Western aesthetics of the oriental Eastern image, and the vividness of scenes such as ink landscapes, ancient Great Walls, temples of worship, and Chinese gardens are also of interest to the West. And the traditional Chinese food, noodles and dumplings, consumed by Mulan and her

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a highly debated book over whether or not it should be read in schools. Many people see Heart of Darkness as a racist book that is blatantly offensive to African Americans, but others view Heart of Darkness as an important book that explores many complex ideas, such as the internal conflict between a man’s sanity and insanity, and Conrad’s opposition to Imperialism, which was very prevalent during the time the book was written. While the opponents of Heart of Darkness say that this book should not be read in schools, I believe the book can be utilized in an academic environment. The opposers to this book do make a reasonable and correct point that this book uses very strong language and seems to be racist, Conrad did not intend to convey racist perspectives, rather, taking on that role to further his point towards Imperialism. Although it uses strong language in the book, that was used to show how Europeans viewed Africans during the time period.

He uses derogatory and offensive remarks that devalue people of color and make them out to be savages. Chinua Achebe, a well-known writer, talked about Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, entitled "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." Throughout his essay, Achebe notes how Conrad "set Africa up as a foil to Europe,"(Achebe) while he also "projects the image of Africa as “the other world”. Africa is said to be a “prehistoric” world. Conrad described this land as non-advanced and inferior to the western countries.

  Conrad has been accused of racism because of the way he portrays the natives in his novel, Heart of Darkness. It has been argued that the natives cannot be an essential part of Heart of Darkness due to the manner in which they are depicted.  However, a careful reading reveals that the story would be incomplete without the natives. Marlow develops a relationship with one of the natives - perhaps the first time in his life that Marlow creates a bond with someone outside of his own race.

    Joseph Conrad'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 "so hopeless and so dark, so impenetrable to human thought, so pitiless to human weakness" (Conrad 94), as though the continent could neither breed nor support any true human life, but he also manages to depict Africans as though they are not worthy of the respect commonly due to the white man.  At one point the main character, Marlow, describes one of the paths he follows: "Can't say I saw any road or any upkeep, unless the body of a middle-aged negro, with a bullet-hole in the forehead, upon which I