Symbolism In How To Read Literature Like A Professor, By Joseph Conrad

Conrad uses the accountant as a symbol of greed and conceitedness in Heart of Darkness similarly to how Foster describes the use of a symbol in his novel How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Symbols, according to Foster, have many meanings. Readers presume “them to mean something[,...] one something in particular[, but] it doesn’t work like that” (Foster); they have multiple meanings. In this way, Conrad uses his character, the accountant, as a symbol of both greed and egotism. When the accountant is first introduced, he is described as wearing “an unexpected elegance of getup [...] high starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket, snowy trousers...” (Conrad). These clothes are a commonplace in Europe, but are in rare form in Africa.
In order for him to be able to obtain these clothes, the accountant had to coerce a native woman who “had a distaste for the work” (Conrad) to make them for him. The accountant tells Marlow “it was difficult” (Conrad) to convince her, but the accountant struggles to hide his obvious greed for material objects as he was willing to pressure the native into doing something that was against her beliefs. Similarly to being a symbol of greed, the accountant is also a symbol of egotism. After seeing many natives dying under a tree with nothing, Marlow depicts the accountant as “a sort of vision[, amazing, ... a] miracle” (Conrad). Although, the only reason Marlow believes this is because of the clothing the accountant is wearing. The accountant seems to be the superior in the compound and must be in charge of something important or else he would not have the opportunity and means of receiving such clothing. This shows the conceitedness the accountant has for himself as he puts his wants in front of others’ needs. By utilizing the accountant as both a symbol for greed and conceitedness, Conrad employs the use of symbolism in Foster’s novel How to Read Literature Like a Professor.

Conrad’s use of chiaroscuro and ill-omened imagery assist in his criticism of European self-aggrandizing.
Marlow, the narrator, while trying to relax underneath a tree, comments harshly on the white worsted around an African American’s neck: “it looked startling around his black neck, this bit of white thread” [...] “Where did he get it?” (Conrad). The opposed colors between the thread and the native’s skin create a shock for Marlow. He does not believe the native is fit to have such a refined “thread from beyond the seas” (Conrad); only Europeans should be privied to objects as fine as the worsted. This self-aggrandizement shadows the obvious problems at the Company Station which Marlow has no desire and initiative to solve. The lives of the African American “criminals” does not need to be harsh, yet without Marlow realizing that the natives and himself and equals, he puts them in harm's way. Conrad also uses ill-omened imagery of a tree in Marlow’s stop to criticize European’s, Marlow’s in particular, self-aggrandizement. This tree is where all of the African Americans come to rest from disease and eventually die. Conrad describes it as a “gloomy circle of some Inferno” where “bundles of acute angles sat with their legs drawn up” with “ attitudes of pain, abandonment and despair.” The natives “were nothing earthly now--nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation.” This ominous imagery creates a sense of apprehension for the reader and for Marlow who becomes
terrified. Only instead of assisting in solving the alarming situation, Marlow “ma[kes] haste towards the station” (Conrad) to get away from the natives because he believes he is “above” all of them. This self-aggrandizement by Marlow portrays himself as an egotistical person who thinks only of himself. Conrad’s morbid imagery and chiaroscuro criticize this sense of self-aggrandizement by the Europeans.

Conrad and Achebe depict African Americans very differently with their use of point of view. Conrad’s narrator is a first person narrator who is European, so he is shaded from the humane aspects of African Americans. When the narrator, Marlow, arrives in Africa, he can not help but portray the natives as objects since the Europeans there represented them as objects with no meaning in life except to fulfill “the philanthropic desire [of] giving [...] criminals something to do” (Conrad). This “philanthropic desire” was nothing but the use of their manpower to support Europeans with the construction of a railroad. Marlow starts to accept this attitude towards the natives and creates his own attitude of neglect towards them. His sense of neglect and objectivity towards natives affects his narration of the story illustrating African Americans in a similar way. On the other hand, Achebe uses a third person narrator to depict the African Americans as humane. This third person narrator is omniscient and knows the thoughts of each of the characters. For example, Okonkwo, the main character, wants to feel powerful and does not show any emotion in fear of being portrayed as weak. Since the narrator is omniscient, he relays the information about Okonkwo’s soft side to the reader and how Okonkwo loves Ikemefuna, his “adopted” son, but can not show it. Eventually when Okonkwo has to assist in the killing of Ikemefuna, the reader is informed of his internal conflict. He must listen to the tribe but does not want to kill a person he loves. This depiction of each character’s thoughts allows the reader to form a connection and sense of sympathy with them in opposition to the sense of objectivity Conrad creates. The differing point of views between Conrad and Achebe in their works allows for differing portrayals of the African Americans present in their stories.