First, one may argue that Denby's context in "The Trouble with 'Heart of Darkness'" is not the same context as a reader's in 2022, as his essay was published in 1995.

In his essay, Denby is saying that he has learned from the class that Heart of Darkness is more complex than he thought, in part because it is part of a particular historical context that people in 1995 can't fully understand. He critiques both Said and Achebe for imposing their late twentieth-century cultural norms on Conrad and condemning Conrad for his racism and colonialist attitudes. Denby thinks this is unfair. He says:

As you read Conrad, do you say, "Am I going to step away from this culture?" Or do you say, "I'm going to interact with it in some way that recognizes the contradictions and lies that culture tells itself"?

Clearly, Denby wants readers to interact with the book on its own terms. At the same time, while he finds value in what Said and Achebe say, one may argue that he is overly reductionist—and perhaps defensive—in his treatment of these critics: he doesn't like that they attack a "great" piece of European literature.

On the other hand, readers may strongly agree with this statement of Denby's:

But to maintain that this book is not embedded in the world—to treat it innocently, as earlier critics did, as a garden of symbols, or as a quest for the Grail or the Father, or whatnot—is itself to diminish Conrad’s achievement. And to pretend that literature has no political component whatsoever is an equal folly.

Others may critique Denby for leaving out the role of women in the novel, perhaps an indication of his own political blind spots.

Overall, many may find that their enlightenment from Denby comes from realizing that there is a difference between his 1995 context and their own in 2022.