How to Handle Remarkable Literature: The Opinionated Views of “Heart of Darkness”

Marianna C. Ford

English 105

Professor Timmons

September 29, 2010

How to Handle Remarkable Literature: The Opinionated Views of “Heart of Darkness”

            Published in 1899, Joseph Conrad’s controversial novella Heart of Darkness still stirs up mixed emotions in the hearts of those who have read his book. Some of these feelings towards Conrad’s literature are harsh and critical while others view his work as captivating and ingenious. Chinua Achebe’s article An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” and J. Hillis Miller’s article Should We Read “Heart of Darkness”? stand as two good examples of each side of the argument: Achebe having a more critical view of Conrad’s novella and Miller having more of a respect for it. Both articles use suitable examples to support their claims and opinions of Conrad and his novella but I believe Miller’s interpretation and assessment of how the book should be handled makes a stronger and more validated argument than Achebe’s article.

            Chinua Achebe’s article An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” features the negative treatment of the native Africans in the Congo and the opinions and views Marlow had of the natives. Achebe bluntly conveys the purpose of his essay, saying “The point of my observations should be quite clear by now, namely that Joseph Conrad was a thoroughgoing racist” (Achebe 343). Achebe’s opinions in his article reveal his belief that the fictional character Marlow had viewpoints and attitudes towards the Africans that were actually transposed feelings of Conrad asserted through the novella. Achebe expresses this perception of Heart of Darkness when he said, “The kind of liberalism espoused here [reference to quote] by Marlow/Conrad…managed to sidestep the ultimate question of equality between white people and black people” (Achebe 342-342). The structure of Achebe’s article and his defense of the Africans are respectable until he said, “Certainly Conrad had a problem with niggers” or “his [Conrad’s] fixation on blackness” or “Whatever Conrad’s problems were, you might say he is now safely dead” (Achebe 345). I do not believe it is a fit action to make assumptions that the views of Marlow in the novella can be associated with the views of the author, Joseph Conrad. Heart of Darkness is a fictional book, not a journal entry.

            On the other side of the spectrum J. Hillis Miller proposes the question: “Should we read Heart of Darkness” (Miller 463)? Miller is neither condemning of the book or of Conrad, the author. When giving his opinion of the novella Miller does not condone the Europeans actions but rather counters their attitude as to why they should not act the way they do. Miller makes a statement crediting the Africans and bringing light to the reality of the situation in the Congo: “Though it may be racist for Marlow (not necessarily Conrad, the reader should remember) to see the Africans as…simple ‘savages’ or ‘primitives,’ when their culture is older than any European one and as complex” (Miller 468). The main strength in Miller’s article is that he pulls himself away from any bias and respects the book for its literary attributes and puts the story into context.

            The primary difference between Achebe’s and Miller’s article is the approach they take in addressing the issues found in Heart of Darkness. Achebe takes the fictional novella and accuses Conrad as being a “thoroughgoing racist” while Miller views the book as a literary masterpiece and accounts all the racism within it as the context in which it was written. One cannot directly connect the beliefs of a fictional character with the beliefs of the author unless given clear reason to. Achebe discredits his argument by interchanging Marlow’s racism with Conrad’s own convictions on the subject whereas Miller’s article addresses Heart of Darkness as a literary work not as a journal entry or some personal account of Conrad’s.

Works Cited

Achebe, Chinua. "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness." Armstrong. 336-348.

Armstrong, Paul B., ed. Heart of Darkness. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006.

Miller, J. Hillis. "Should We Read Heart of Darkness?" Armstrong 463-474.