Who Is Joseph Conrad Racist

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Ricky Rivas
Mrs. McHenry
English Literature/Composition

November 6, 2014

Racism and HOD

Critics and reviewers who have read Joseph Conrad 's, Heart of Darkness, have had many different views upon the novel, mostly believing that Conrad’s piece of work is either racist or sexist. As I read the story, with pre­ awareness of human cruelty and inequality between the
Europeans and Africans/natives, I did not believe Conrad was a racist nor his work reflected the kind of man Conrad was, even though there may have been points in the story that indicate whether or not he was racist, we must understand that the perspective and vision we see in this book was back then acceptable and normal. We first understand that most of the information written in this book was all based on the
actual experience that greatly disturbed Mr.
Conrad. The story tells the journey of a European sailor by the name of Marlow, who all his life wanted to live life on the sea and explore the many mysterious destination, such as the Congo River in Africa. As he tells his experience of his first views of his journey through the Congo River, a place of darkness and evil created by those who have come in and set up Africa as a foil, and no real knowledge of this setting before his expedition, Marlow has no understanding or severity to this River. His beginning view/thoughts of the environment around him shouldn 't indicate that he is a racist, for it takes time to adapt any sort of social changes of all that he witnessed, such as with death, human cruelty, and sorrow of

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the Africans. There is time when Marlow would show some sort of compassion toward the natives and African members, all dealing with the issue of
death. By viewing the issue of racism and it being the overall tone of the story as a whole, people believe the work reflects back to Joseph Conrad and opinions of him being a racist.
According to Achebe Chinua,” An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad 's Heart of Darkness”,
Achebe believe this book is offensive and racist, believing that Conrad is attacking Africa instead. Instead of looking at Conrad 's work from a negative perspective like Achebe, readers should view these racist points as all factors toward Conrad’s point of view that he wanted readers to understand towards the story, and show the realizations that affected Conrad through his experience.
In the beginning of Frances B. Singh, ”The Colonialistic Bias of Heart of Heart of Darkness”, provides a background information and experience of Conrad growing up as “a victim of Russians colonialistic policies”(Singh 286) and experiencing some sort of unequalness, like described between the Africans and Europeans in book. Further on, the article tells how
Conrad always wanted to become a sailor and live life on sea only to be able to experience what he was never able to feel growing up. By indicating that Conrad 's words and experience may be seem racist we must first observe Conrad’s perspective before jumping to conclusion. Like
Marlow, social changes take time, this was the experience that has affected Conrad physically and mentally, by this time period it was probably acceptable and normal to view colonialism and
Africa this certain way, compared fifty plus years later after Conrad 's death.

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There are many different beliefs and perspectives to what the Joseph Conrad’s message is trying to show us in his book, with believes that Conrad intention to show readers that
anything native or associated with Africa represent evil/darkness, where the Europeans who came down represented good/light. By analyzing and identifying the theme and symbols that lie within the story from Dark vs. Light, moral corruption, and Good vs Bad, can give some sort of believe towards the story and Conrad. By overpassing the bias ideas, I believe the racist remarks/points that Conrad writes were in his intentions to help readers to understand that these were factors to help give further understanding to what Conrad’s point of view and message of the story was.
Conrad’s overall meaning for the story was to prove that darkness and negativity not only surrounds us, but it originates within us. After finishing reading this book and analyzing the many article and criticism of the story and its author, I still choose to believe that Conrad is not racist and rather it was Conrad just telling his own journey through the Congo and the experiences of injustices that needed to be heard at the time. From look through the author 's perspective or overpassing what others bias believes were towards the author and their book, we as reader should further understand why the authors write the things they write instead of reflecting it back towards them.

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Work Cited
Achebe, Chinua. “An image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’.” Massachusetts
Review 1977: 251­261. print
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. 1899, ed. Robert Kimbrough, Norton Critical Editions, 3rd ed. (New York:Norton, 1988).
Singh, Frances. The Colonialistic Bias of Heart of Darkness. in Kimbrough 268­80