Importance Of Racism In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

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Racism is something that has been something occurring in the world for a very long time. The novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad represents the time period of imperialism; when Belgium colonized the Congo. Conrad depicts the racism that occured in the Congo of Africa because of the Europeans colonization. The main protagonist named Marlow, a European sailor, goes on an adventure with his crew through his perspective going up the Congo River with the goal of meeting an idealistic man, Kurtz. Throughout this journey, Marlow says many things that can seem racist towards the natives which can spark arguments about whether this novel should be considered canon Throughout its long history as a seminal text in the English canon, there has been a strenuous debate over whether Heart of Darkness is itself a …show more content…
That is, does the book itself, quite apart from the individuals in it, express racism? Or does any racism in the book express an opinion of Conrad’s? The first major work on colonialism, the story is clearly written from the perspective of a foreign white man on a boat in a strange country. This in itself creates problems for many readers, who see Conrad’s effort to write about Africa and Africans as presumption or even racism in itself. Although some might say Heart of Darkness describes the tragedies of the African people, Heart of Darkness should not be considered a canon because it exploits the native people and encourages colonialism
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad tells the story of sailor named Charles Marlow’s time as captain of an ivory-hauling steamboat along the Congo River. The 1899 novel, rooted in Conrad’s own

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