Having gone back and rereading Heart of Darkness, but this time reading between the lines, I have discovered some racism Conrad felt toward the natives that I had not discovered the first time I read the book. Normal readers usually are good at detecting racism in a book.Īchebe acknowledges Conrad camouflaged racist remarks, saying, “But Conrad chose his subject well – one which was guaranteed not to put him in conflict with psychological pre-disposition…” (Achebe, 253). Achebe, Singh, and Sarvan, although their criticisms differ, are a few to name. Yet, despite Conrad’s great story telling, he has also been viewed as a racist by some of his critics. His book has all the trappings of the conventional adventure tale – mystery, exotic setting, escape, suspense, unexpected attack.Ĭhinua Achebe concluded, “Conrad, on the other hand, is undoubtedly one of the great stylists of modern fiction and a good story-teller into the bargain” (Achebe 252). Joseph Conrad develops themes of personal power, individual responsibility, and social justice in his book Heart of Darkness.
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