Read the excerpt from "An Image of Africa: Racism in
Conrad's Heart of Darkness" by Chinua Achebe.
The point of my observations should be quite clear by
now, namely that Joseph Conrad was a thoroughgoing
racist. That this simple truth is glossed over in criticisms
of his work is due to the fact that white racism against
Africa is such a normal way of thinking that its
manifestations go completely unremarked. Students of
Heart of Darkness will often tell you that Conrad is
concerned not so much with Africa as with the
deterioration of one European mind caused by solitude
and sickness. They will point out to you that Conrad is, if
anything, less charitable to the Europeans in the story
than he is to the natives, that the point of the story is to
ridicule Europe's civilizing mission in Africa. A Conrad
student informed me in Scotland that Africa is merely a
setting for the disintegration of the mind of Mr. Kurtz.
What is Achebe's purpose in this passage?
Oto argue that, although Conrad is racist, he should be
admired for treating Europeans less favorably
O to advocate for modern historians to reevaluate
Europe's "civilizing" mission in Africa
Oto point out and condemn literary critics who have
long misinterpreted Conrad's work as racist
O to suggest that the racist attitudes in Conrad's work
are ignored because of literary critics' bias