Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness - Research Paper Example

?Heart of Darkness The novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a story of an Englishman, Marlow. Marlow’s narration about his journey to the Congo in Africa is the central subject of the novel. Marlow is employed as a ferry-boat captain by a Belgian trading company. His job is to carry ivory downriver, but the main task assigned to him is to bring Kurtz back to his society. The incidents occurring during the execution of this task are detailed in the story providing a deep insight in the psyche of Marlow. The abysmal condition in which the inhabitants of the region are leading their life is also revealed in his narration. The wide gap that exists between the life of the Europeans and the Africans is vividly sketched by the author. There are many instances in the novel indicative of racism, with Africa shown as a backward place and its inhabitants as unearthly creatures who are lacking the refinement possessed by the Europeans. However, still the book can not be termed as racist, for the attitude presented in the novel is that of the character, Marlow and not of the author. So, this paper will analyze, although other well known African writers like Chinua Achebe have accused the author Joseph Conrad of exhibiting racism in the book, Heart of Darkness, the fact is, he did not exhibit racism, and instead projected certain race centric thoughts in the words of a European character. Argument In the novel, Marlow’s journey through the Congo River to bring back Kurtz provides him different perspectives about imperialism, and importantly makes him aware of the negative effects of imperialism. “We were wanderers on a prehistoric earth, on an earth that wore the aspect of an unknown planet”, (Conard 46). These lines spoken by Marlow clearly show that he views Africa as a primeval place. However, after completing the journey up the river, he is able to understand the key reasons behind the dismal state of affairs in Africa. The native populations are forcibly employed by the Belgian company, and are exploited extremely by the agents of the company. Not only they are provided apt sums for their work, instead they are made to live in pathetic conditions. Marlow understands that how people belonging to one particular race is being exploited for the benefit of another race, thereby to satisfy their greed. This hypocrisy of the developed nations can be seen through the European or dominant attitude of Marlowe and his company, “The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much”. (Conrad, 9). Marlow sees how imperialism is providing advantages to one race of people, and at the same time exploiting the other group. The domineering and at the same time the cruel manner in which the Africans were treated by the European companies reflects the times of slavery. “They were dying slowly – it was very clear……they sickened, become inefficient, and were allowed to crawl away and rest”. (Conrad, 26). Even if the African natives die, it does not evoke any sympathy from the company officials, as they are more focused towards their business operations and profits. Upon meeting Kurtz, Marlow starts to understand the selfish motives of his company, and instead starts to respect Kurtz. Marlow’s notion of imperialism is altered after he encounters cruelty and torture during his journey. However, at the same time, Marlow, a European by race is biased towards the natives of Africa because of the liberal traditions of his indigenous place, “The kind of liberalism espoused here by Marlow/Conrad…almost always managed to sidestep the ultimate question of equality between white people and black people”. (Achebe 256). He never considered the black race as an equal to the white race. For him they were inferior people fit to lead a life of slaves. He thinks that they were strange and unlike other humans in their behavior, “But suddenly, as we struggled round a bend, there would be glimpse of rush walls, peaked grass-roofs, a burst of yells, a whirl of black limbs, a mass of hands clapping, of feet stamping, of bodies swaying, of eyes rolling, under the droop of heavy and motionless foliage”. (Conrad 46). So we are sure that Marlowe’s judgment about the black people is biased but we can not say same about Conrad. However, when one views the secondary source, Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness by Chinua Achebe, it provides different perspective. Achebe strongly claims the presence of racism throughout the narration, “Heart of Darkness projects the image of Africa as "the other world," the antithesis of Europe and therefore of civilization, a place where man's vaunted intelligence and refinement are finally mocked by triumphant beastiality”. (Achebe, 252) .Achebe insists on his view that Marlow was a racist who looked down upon the blacks. He further argues that Conrad was using his fictional character, Marlowe to express his own attitudes. He claims Conrad to be a racist, “The point of my observations should be quite clear by now, namely that Joseph Conrad was a thoroughgoing racist”. (Achebe, 256). Achebe is also disturbed by Conrad’s portrayal of Africa as a place unfit for humans to lead a civilized life, “Africa as setting and backdrop which eliminates the African as human factor. Africa as a metaphysical battlefield devoid of all recognizable humanity, into which the wandering European enters at his peril”. (Achebe, 257). However, when viewed without any preset perspectives, it is clear that, there is nothing in the book which proves that Conrad has the same feelings towards the blacks as that of Marlowe. He never tries to justify that Marlowe’s attitude is right. Marlowe is the one who is narrating the story and he is describing the humanity in Africa as ugly. Conrad is the author but that does not imply that his thinking is similar to that of the character created by him. Conrad’s intention in presenting the central character of his novel as a prejudiced person was to bring forth the discrepancies between the idealist European intent and the reality of colonization in Africa. He wanted to portray the true picture of imperialism. Marlowe’s narration sheds light on the sufferings of the African people. His disgust for them is analogous to that of all the Europeans who consider themselves the superior race. Conrad wanted the world to know how the blacks were exploited to satisfy the greed of the whites. He wished to change the mindset of the people in the West who considered African civilization as primeval. Conrad shows how one human race is constantly affronted and oppressed by another. The real picture of the African colonies under the control of Europeans is presented in the novel. How imperialism has made the life of whites better and the life of blacks worse is evident in the narration of Marlowe. Conrad calls upon the West to regard the Africans on par to them. In the end we can conclude that Marlow is a racist, but the author Conrad is not one. Marlow’s narration proves the above fact. He believes the blacks are primitive in their manners and he belongs to the modern society. Achebe’s analysis that Conrad is a racist is wrong, because Achebe is judging him by the beliefs of his illusory character. Works cited Achebe, Chinua. An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Heart of Darkness, An Authoritative Text, Background and Sources, Criticism. 3rd ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough, London: W. W Norton and Co., 1988, pp. 251-261 Conrad, Joseph. Hearts of Darkness, Filiquarian Publishing. LLC. 2006. Read More