Yesterday, Today, and Not Knowing the Difference

At the time it was written, Heart of Darkness was a cautionary tale about trying to make a living in Africa. Today, it is a time capsule of how Europeans treated Africans, how horrible this treatment was, and how this treatment became their downfall. This is all well and good, but some misinformed readers today still read it as a cautionary tale, not knowing that the history and culture of Africa is much more rich and varied than is depicted in the book. This is where the problems that Achebe writes about are created.

When Heart of Darkness was written, many white readers still held imperialist opinions. Many did not, but they didn’t do anything to change the opinions of those that did. Heart of Darkness, of course, portrayed both of these people, and this likely caused major change in many social circles and many ways of thinking.

The book still does this today, but in a different way. Readers today are often uninformed about the imperialist time period, with many history teachers skipping over it in favor of more important events in American history. Therefore, the book gives them much-needed information on how their ancestors treated African natives, the damage it caused, and how to ensure that it never happens again.

Obviously, this is all very important, but there are some readers today who read it as a reader from yesterday would. They think that Africa then is the same as Africa now, and they think that “savages” is still (and has ever been) an apt term to use. If this is the mindset they have, the book doesn’t do a lot to make any positive change. This is the situation in which the book is harmful, and this is the situation that Achebe is writing about.