Racism In Heart Of Darkness

Joseph Conrad (1857-1924), Polish-born English novelist, is considered to be one of the greatest modern English writers. His work explores the vulnerability and moral instability at the heart of human lives. Heart of Darkness is one of his masterpieces. Since its publication, Heart of Darkness has become one of the most read and debated works of fiction in the English language. It has probably received more critical attention than any other prose works of Conrad's.Joseph Conrad drew on his experiences when he wrote. Heart of Darkness is based upon a six-month stint Conrad spent in the Congo. In this novella, Conrad made full use of images, or more clearly, images of Africa and Africans. These images give us a pretty picture of how European people and Conrad saw Africa at that time.Heart of Darkness was written at the end of the 19^th century when the colonization of Africa was at its peak and the social Darwinism was prevalent. In order to justify colonial exploitation, Europeans stereotyped Africans as savage and uncivilized, who were inferior to Europeans. They considered it their duty to bring light to the dark Africa, to bring civilization to the savage Africa.Conrad's ideas towards Africa and Africans were inevitably influenced by this ideology. Heart of Darkness is full of depictions of Africa as a savage and dark continent. Subject to the social conditions, Conrad stereotyped Africa as a primitive stage of human history and the African culture was separated from European culture. Africa is regarded as "Other".Morever, in Heart of Darkness, the portrayal of the Africans is dehumanized and depersonalized. They are deprived of the tool of speech and communication; they are treated just as objects without intelligence and emotions; and they are distanced by the narrative technique adopted by Conrad. Marlow witnessed their inhuman condition. He showed his sympathy but at the same time got horrified by the distant kinship with the black.In Heart of Darkness, there is a sharp contrast when Conrad depicts the Intended...