Comparing Stanley And Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

The nineteenth century corresponds to the scramble for Africa and to the birth of colonialism. During that period, a lot of writers, philosophers and explorers emerged. Among them, there were Joseph Conrad and Stanley. In their writings, their main claim is that Africa is a jungle where live “savages” but also an unhistorical part of the world. Indeed, throughout their texts, there are a lot of animalistic, pejorative and inhuman terms used to qualify Africans. For instance, Stanley points out “our expedition was, however, becoming thinned in these repeated attacks made on us by such piratical cannibals” (Stanley 2). From this quote, African’s behavior is comparable to predator’s which shows wild characters and impulsive attitudes …show more content…
But in comparison to the text written in an African prospective in 1789, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, the image of Africa constructed by Conrad and Stanley is a wholly made-up story to reflect a bad image of the black continent. Indeed, Equiano, the author, describes political, economic and social aspects of his community which show a high level of organization and civilization. As an illustration in matter of laws, he mentions “Those Embrenche chief men decided disputes and punished crimes” (Equiano 11) .This means that there is a certain hierarchy to show respect and to bring cohesion within the community. Moreover, the community, women, men and children are involved in many economical activities such as agriculture, manufacture, commerce (13).Besides, their cultural life (spirituality, dance, music) is rich and organized according to specific criteria (12).In short,Equiano’s text shows that Europeans gave a false picture of Africa which altered the African identity. In reality , Africa is fruitful land, whose inhabitants have a rich culture ,an organized society and a lot of economical