Prejudice and Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Essay

Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Imagine floating up the dark waters of the Congo River in the Heart of Africa. The calmness of the water and the dense fog make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck as you wonder if the steamboats crew will eat you as you sleep. These things occur in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Although the book is undeniably racist, was the author, Joseph Conrad, racist? Conrad was racist because he uses racial slurs, the slavery and unfair treatment of the native Africans in his book. The use of racist language is very prevalent in Heart of Darkness. Conrad, through Marlow, the main character, uses the word nigger when talking about native Africans on many occasions. The fool-nigger had†¦show more content†¦A normal person today would feed and pay those who work for them. It is considered morally sound to do this. In Heart of Darkness, no one thinks it is wrong to not feed or pay those who work for you. It would be considered wrong to help feed the workers who are starving. Conrad raises no point in his book that this act is unacceptable. Conrad then believes it is okay. In Heart of Darkness,it is considered reasonable to make the natives at fault for things management has done. The manager sets Marlow’s trade goods on fire and blames a native for the blaze. This act dehumanized the native much like a slave. Black figures strolled about listlessly, pouring water on the glow, whence proceeded a sound of hissing; steam ascended in the moonlight; the beaten nigger groaned somewhere. (Conrad 28) If the native people in Heart of Darkness were paid for their work it would be so minute that the natives would hardly be able to buy enough food to bring themselves out of starvation. Besides that, they had given them every week three pieces of brass wire each about nine inches long, and the theory was they were to buy their provisions with that currency in river-side villages. (Conrad 42) The natives who received the wire never had a chance to use it because the boat never stopped at any villages. Conrad’s relaxed writing style makes it sound humorous that the natives were treated unfairly and that is very racist. The unfair treatment of theShow MoreRelatedRacism And Sexism In Joseph Conrads Heart Of Darkness1108 Words   |  5 Pagesundertaking VCE. From the time Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad was published in 1899 the novel has been held under considerable scrutiny as many interpretations have been developed over the novels true intent as well as the overall message portrayed within. Chinua Achebe’s â€Å"An Image of Africa† is a well-known criticism on Heart of Darkness that focuses on a Post-Colonial perspective to describe the nature of the novel. 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