Heart Of Darkness Antithesis

Chinua Achebe levels the charge of racism against Joesph Conrad and his novel the Heart of Darkness. Achebe calls it vile, and that it only seeks to set the white race above the black race.
Achebe wants everyone to believe his message, but the truth is he's wrong! Achebe selects only parts of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness to prove Conrad’s a “'bloody racist,'” and that “'Africa is the antithesis of Europe,'” yet when looking at the whole passage it shows Conrad places less emphasis on race, and more on the humanity Africans and Europeans share (Achebe). Achebe's argument is loosely based on excerpts taken out of context, but there is evidence within the book that challenges his accusations, and will allow the reader to move beyond racism and
Notice he chose the word “antithesis” to show Conrad thinks in simple terms of opposites, but this is really his own way of thinking because what Conrad is really saying is Africa is what Europe used to be, not opposites, but in different stages of development. The word antithesis means a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else (Webster's). He uses the word again in saying the “'...Congo, is the antithesis of the Thames'” (Achebe). To him Conrad is saying that the Thames is only goodness and light, in contrast to the dark and dangerous Congo. Yet Marlow says at the beginning about the Thames, “'And this also has been one of the dark places of the earth” (5). Conrad is saying that the Thames was once dark, undeveloped and was the water way for the conquering Romans, as well as other powers. Throughout his argument against Conrad, he says that Conrad has it wrong, but Achebe uses only parts of the dialogue which distorts the meaning to vindicate what he is
In fact the only characters shown to have any capacity for self-restraint in the story were the cannibals, and they were starving! The charge of racism needs to be supported with strong evidence that one believes their race is superior over anothers, but Conrad believes that Europeans in their actions are beneath Africans, so the charge of racism can't exist. While Achebe throws the label of racism on Conrad in his commentary, he lacks evidence in his essay to support it. The antithesis that Achebe insists on that Africa is bad to Europe's good, is absurd. Just look when Achebe asked the question, “'Is Conrad saying, then, that these two rivers...one good, the other bad?'” (Achebe). The reality is that this is how Achebe chooses to see it, because in fact, Conrad is saying to all of us that all men have the capacity to be evil or good, yet the one ideal that determines this state of being is the realization of what one perceives as truly good or truly evil. The decision is