Teaching Heart of Darkness

After reading Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness'" by Chinua Achebe, I have a better understanding of the conflict between Conrad and Achebe. Conrad wrote a hero's journey into the darkness of his own soul, shown through the lens of European imperialism in the Congo. Achebe was a Nigerian professor and author who criticized the racism of Conrad's portrayal of Africa and African peoples. I feel very conflicted about my interpretation of Heart of Darkness; on the one hand, I think that it is beautifully written and I understand why it speaks to past and current generations about the nature of the human soul. On the other hand, the way that Conrad writes about the native African people and peoples in the book is ridiculously offensive.

Heart of Darkness is, in my opinion, a literary masterpiece. I think that the description of nature, both physical and human, is often quite beautiful. Putting all interpretations of the novella aside, the language that Conrad uses to describe the physical world around him is skilled and vivid. The depiction of Kurtz's darkness and Marlow's darkness is fascinating and it shows a certain insight into the human mind on Conrad's part. The dual-narration of the story invites the audience to confront their own souls. I think that all of this is beautifully done; Conrad fulfills his purpose and demonstrates an understanding of human shortcomings and of language that is really lovely.

However, Heart of Darkness is far from a cultural masterpiece. Achebe's criticism of it is enormously convincing: he attacks Conrad's depictions of individual African people, depictions of groups of African people, and depictions of Africa as a whole -- all of which are, indeed, "thoroughly racist." Conrad dehumanizes, demonizes, and demeans the African people about whom he writes. Even attempts at benevolence still paint the white man as the savior or the superior and the black man as a victimized animal. At best, the African people are a part of the backdrop, a part of the wild jungle that characterizes the novel. At worst, the African people are dogs in trousers, niggers, and cannibals. All of this is pointed out and criticized heavily by Achebe, justly and truthfully.

My conflict comes when Achebe maintains that Heart of Darkness should not and cannot be considered a piece of art. To be fair, I have nothing to lose by the acknowledgment of problematic works as art; minorities and oppressed peoples have everything to lose. Yet I can't help but feel that we should not and cannot quantify art on behalf of all audiences. I feel that Heart of Darkness should be taught; questioned and analyzed from multiple points of view, but taught nevertheless. If nothing else, it gives one an understanding of the perspective held by Europeans of native Africans. We can appreciate good literature and criticize racism and misrepresentation at the same time. Problematic literature may even give us the greatest insight into the ways in which we can improve modern-day literature. So we should read, enjoy, and appreciate Heart of Darkness, but we should listen closely to criticism, and we should make our own objections. We will learn the most this way.