Critical Analysis and Racial Themes in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness"

Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” has been studied by many scholars since its publication in 1899. Some have seen this novella as a great masterpiece of Western literature while others have found many problems in it, including Chinua Achebe’s claim that racism is intrinsic in the novella. We will look, here, at Achebe’s claim as well as counterarguments on his claim

What is the description of the conditions of the natives?

“Black shapes crouched, lay, sat between the trees leaning against the trunks, clinging to the earth, half coming out, half effaced within the dim light, in all the attitudes of pain, abandonment, and despair. Another mine on the cliff went off, followed by a slight shudder of the soil under my feet. The work was going on. The work! And this was the place where some of the helpers had withdrawn to die. They were dying slowly it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now, nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom”. (Passage from Heart of Darkness)

Colonialism and racial domination

Along with colonialism and trade came the forced ideals of a race who thought themselves more superior than who occupied the land before them. This was the same situation that the Native Americans endured when the Europeans landed in America. This is also clear in the Heart of Darkness where we see the Whites completely dominate the Blacks. In the above passage, Conrad says the helpers withdrew here to die. These people were not helpers, but slaves who were forced to work till physical exhaustion. The black people are not given any personal traits or uniqueness unless they pose a similarity to the Whites. Even then, we see no glimpse of humanity in their characters.