Blog Assignment #2

Dale Daniels, Jr.

Timmons

English 105

September 29, 2010

     After reading the essays of Chinua Achebe and J. Hills Miller, I noticed that both essays had an argument about Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

     Achebe's essay, "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness," was mainly about the hidden racism in Conrad's novella.  He points out that the novella actually reinforces the stereotypes about the natives of Africa.  Throughout Achebe's essay, he does give good "concessions" about the novella.  He said that, " it was the desire...in Western psychology to set Africa up as a foil to Europe."  He actually praises Conrad for his style of writing!  The foil between Africa and Europe: Europe is civilized and "good" but Africa is savage and "bad."  Not only that but Achebe uses a strong tone while addressing counter arguments.  However, when there are good "concessions" there are also criticisms.  Even though Conrad's novella is a work of Fiction, Achebe's essay seems to turn the novella into a work of Non-fiction.  He even down right says that "Joseph Conrad was a bloody racist" (Achebe 343).  Achebe himself is an African native from Nigeria.  He seems to take a personal offence to the novella.  Therefore, it seems that he is biased throughout his essay.

     Miller's essay, "Should We Read "Heart of Darkness"?" is mainly about his argument about if we should read the novella or not.  He does not mean just read it for fun but what he really means is "perform a reading in the strong sense, and active responsible response that renders justice to a book" (Miller 463).  Millers states that Conrad's novella provides important information about Conrad's life and his journey to Africa that helps the reader understand more about the history in the novella.  But he wonders how Heart of Darkness considers itself as literature rather than a book about history.  Why must we really read Heart of Darkness?

     In the end, both writers had great arguments that made me question the novella myself.  

Works Cited:

Achebe, Chinua. "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." Armstrong 336-349.

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

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

The Heart of Darkness

Daniels 1

Dale Daniels, Jr.

Professor Timmons

English 105

7 September 2010

The Europeans versus the Natives

          Imagine yourself as a European in 1899 on a jungle cruise: full of trees, wildlife, and natives to the land are all around you.  There are many similarities and differences between the Europeans and the natives in the novella "Heart of Darkness."

          The first thing that caught my eye were the differences between the Europeans and the natives.  Obviously, the Europeans were more advanced in technology than the natives; for example, the Europeans had Martini-Henry's, a rifle used by the British military, while the natives only had arrows.  On the other hand, even though the Europeans were more advanced, it seemed that the natives were better trained for battle.  The Europeans were well dressed; when Marlow first meets the Company's chief accountant, he was wearing "a high, starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket, snowy trousers, a clean necktie, and varnished boots" (Conrad 18).  The natives however, were practically naked except for maybe a piece of cloth and except for that one woman that appeared before Marlow while he was on the outside of Mr. Kurtz's tent.  According to Marlow she was draped in striped and fringed cloths, treading the earth proudly with a slight jingle and flash of barbarous ornaments, her hair was in the shape of a helmet and she had jewelry everywhere: on her legs, around her arms, and around her neck.

          There are not that many similarities within the novella.  When the cannibals were hired to help Marlow on his journey, they proved to have respect for him, the captain.  They worked hard, they were reasonable, and they were respectful to others as well.  They were "fine fellows. . .and, after all, they did not eat each other before [the captain's] face" (Conrad 34-35).  Since the cannibals were so respectful to the captain, they gained his respect in return.  This shows that, like Europeans, the cannibals have proved that they are respectful to others in some way or another.  How would you feel if you saw someone being eaten right in front of you?

          Throughout the novella "Heart of Darkness," there are many comparisons between the Europeans and the natives.  They both have their own technologies and cultures, as different as they may be, they still have some similarities in the end.

Works Cited:

Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Ed. Paul B. Armstrong. W.W. Norton: New York, 2005