Project "The Heart of Darkness" by Chirova Dasha https://padlet.com/chirovadarya/Bookmarks en-us 2020-09-09 16:26:39 UTC 2025-12-08 12:45:51 UTC hello@padlet.com "The Heart of Darkness" is a significant Conrad's work that has influenced his fame. chirovadarya https://padlet.com/chirovadarya/Bookmarks/wish/1446115058 However, it has faced much critics as readers and literature critics claim the story is racist.

Several arguments present why "The Heart of Darkness" is not racist and does not propagate this point of view. ]]> 2021-04-22 07:51:20 UTC https://padlet.com/chirovadarya/Bookmarks/wish/1446115058 The description of the characters chirovadarya https://padlet.com/chirovadarya/Bookmarks/wish/1446595993 MARLOW
Marlow's attitude towards the issue of colonialism and slavery is quite ambiguous. Sometimes he is thinking about the horror fate of slaves, however, he did not express his clear attitude.
Nevertheless, it is important to distinguish the author's attitude and the attitude of his character. 
KURTZ
Conrad describes the character as a mad man who is obsessed with the idea of colonialism and is used to using his contradictory horrible methods. The scene with the image of cut heads can be taken as example of such controversial decision. Moreover, through his image, the author conveys the mental health problems caused by isolation and degradation of a personality. All circumstances, such as communication and exploitation of locals, mania of ivory, and achieving goals by destroying people, shows the inability of a civilized person to live in a primitive  place, as they used to another conditions (there we can also remember the fate of the Swede who hanged himself).
And by this description, the author tells  that imperialism in colonies that drives the economies of developed countries destroys people's lives, both Africans and Europeans. 

Comparison between Marlow and Conrad
The experience of Marlow can be compared with Conrad's one because it is known from the author's biography that he travelled to Africa and worked there too. The impression received by Marlow is the impression of the author himself, when he was for the first time in an unfamiliar country, in an unfamiliar world. Maybe some thoughts about this "dark" place are the same, as Conrad expresses his opinion about the environment  through Marlow's attitude, how the character sees it in the text.



]]> 2021-04-22 10:53:55 UTC https://padlet.com/chirovadarya/Bookmarks/wish/1446595993 Conclusion. "The Heart of Darkness" is not a racist novella. chirovadarya https://padlet.com/chirovadarya/Bookmarks/wish/1464444461 I disagree with the Chinua Achebe's and Francis B.Singh's opinions. 
As the world is changing, people's worldviews and ethics have transformed dramatically over the last few centuries. Things that were appropriate some hundred years ago are criticized nowadays, and it is an ordinary situation in our world. 
In my opinion, Joseph Conrad reflects the attitude of his contemporary society and describes the terror and the fate of African people who have faced the exploitation and  violation of human rights( as it is called now). Perhaps, the author had a certain attitude towards that people, however, I hope that all the arguments indicate that the story is not racist.]]> 2021-04-27 14:07:25 UTC https://padlet.com/chirovadarya/Bookmarks/wish/1464444461 Europeans' attitude towards the Africans was a norm that time. chirovadarya https://padlet.com/chirovadarya/Bookmarks/wish/1518267346 First of all, it is pointless to project the ideology of these days into the past, as the same ideas are perceived differently.

By conveying the attitude of European society, Conrad   illustrates  the image of residents as wild men, "unhappy savages", he calls them "niggers", which is offensive, but it was an acceptable word.
The author writes about Africans' appearance in the way how they were seen by Europeans : " Strings of dusty niggers with splay feet arrived and departed". Readers can feel all the horror of the place where locals are exposed to die, and the author describes them not even humans: "his brother phantom rested its forehead, as if overcome with a great weariness", " one of these creatures rose to his hands and knees, and went off on all-fours towards the river to drink". 
Africans are shown as primitive creatures chained or living in the jungle, performing their strange rituals. The protagonist understands their fate because it is irreversible consequences of colonialism. Nevertheless,   the death scenes frighten him ("While I stood horror-struck"). ]]> 2021-05-12 16:41:42 UTC https://padlet.com/chirovadarya/Bookmarks/wish/1518267346 Europeans are shown not only developed and more advanced people. chirovadarya https://padlet.com/chirovadarya/Bookmarks/wish/1518680814 The greed hungry for ivory, the desire to control others appeals their real human nature. Even their appearance("high starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket, snowy trousers, a clean necktie, and varnished boots")seems ironic in the lands of aborigines. 
"Developed" society is illustrated as violence that makes other people suffer. Moreover, sometimes their actions are unreasonable, for example, the episode when the man-of-war was shelling the bush.
From the Kurtz's story, it is seen that unfamiliar land and extreme conditions can influence even civilized individual.  

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