Heart of Darkness | An Image of Africa

In the following excerpt, Chinua Achebe argues that the racist attitudes inherent in Conrad's novel make it ‘‘totally inconceivable’’ that it could be considered ‘‘great art.’’

Heart of Darkness projects the image of Africa as ‘‘the other world,’’ the antithesis of Europe and therefore of civilization, a place where a man's vaunted intelligence and refinement are finally mocked by triumphant bestiality. The book opens on the River Thames, tranquil, resting peacefully ‘‘at the decline of day after ages of good service done to the race that peopled its banks.’’ But the actual story takes place on the River Congo, the very antithesis of the Thames. The River Congo is quite decidedly not a River Emeritus. It has rendered no service and...

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