Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

I read “Heart of Darkness” for a university assignment and it was very different to what I expected. I had heard about the novel and how it was set in the Congo during imperialistic times and had expected to read about the conditions that the Congolese people were going through under colonialism. Instead, I discovered that Conrad’s purpose behind the book was to use Africa as a backdrop to examine Europe’s civility and colonizing mission.

Conrad is a writer who is ranked with authors termed “Classic Writers” so his book is well worth the read. It reveals a perspective on the mind of a white man during the late 1800s, early 1900s, as he critically looks at Colonization. I found it an interesting perspective but was surprised at the indifferent language that he used when describing the indigenous African people. I guess it was normal or common for that time but it struck me as being quite cold and callous.

Because of the way Conrad refers to the African people within “Heart of Darkness”, he has been accused of being a racist and the book is in the middle of quite a debate. On one side, people say that Conrad stripped away the humanity and dignity of the African people and therefore, he is racist. On the other side, people say that he was only responding to what he saw in the context and worldview of his time – how can we expect any different from him? I tend to agree with the former argument as I believe he should know better than the common view of the inhumanity of Africans that was present in his day because many other people did. Livingstone, Wilberforce... it wasn’t unheard of.

In conclusion, this is an eye-opening novel and actually was the basis for books such as Barbara Kingsolver’s “Poisonwood Bible” and movies like Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 film, “Apocalypse Now”. It’s very interesting, is a quick read, and provides a mindset behind the colonialism of Africa.