In “An Image of Africa”, Achebe analyzed a novel written in 1899 by Joseph Conrad called Heart of Darkness. In his novel, Joseph Conrad uses extensive details when describing the humanity on Africa. Unlike Achebe and myself, Conrad believes that Africans aren’t humans and don’t deserve to be treated like so. Therefore, Achebe used various explanations to define Conrad as a racist who was only allowed to publish his works just because he was also a beautiful poet.  As expected, people today view Africa very different than a person would in the 1800’s, such as Joseph Conrad. After a deeper examination of “An Image of Africa” by Chinua Achebe, one can see how the definition of “humanity” has changed over time, which is important because people view Africa differently from the 1800’s to today.

Conrad, a European author who wrote about the western view of Africa, incorrectly believed that Africa was the foil to Europe. He believed that Europe was near a utopia while Africa was considered “the other world or the antitheses of civilization.” Conrad didn’t understand how Africa was a different type of civilization and not the “antitheses of civilization.” In his story Heart of Darkness, he wrongly called Africans “savages or beats,” referring to them as less than or not even human. He didn’t realize that Africans were humans as well and deserved to be treated equally. The setting of the story took place on two rivers, the River Congo and the River Emeritus. In Conrad’s mind, The River Congo represented Africa while the River Emeritus represented Europe. Conrad believed that “going up that [Congo] river was like travelling back to the earliest beginning of the world.” He also said that the River Emeritus had conquered its darkness, referring to how Europe was more settled and advanced than Africa. Conrad incorrectly assumed that modern day Africa was equal to the dark times that Europe had conquered hundreds or thousands of years ago. He didn’t understand that just because a human is different than yourself, doesn’t mean that human is less of a human. Conrad believed his harsh writing style and imagery behind the two rivers wasn’t enough, so he also used the story of a European expedition to further make his point. 

Those European expeditioners felt like they were wanderers on a prehistoric earth or even an unknown planet, but they weren’t. They felt like they walked into “a black and prehistoric frenzy” where no sane man could take part in this “enthusiastic outbreak of a madhouse.” In addition, Conrad stated how the western mind had trouble thinking of Africans as the same race as themselves, and how it was excessively “ugly.” In today’s world, it is almost impossible to find an entire group of Europeans who would accept these beliefs about Africa. He didn’t even give those “animals” the knowledge of being able to talk. During the entire story, only two of the “niggers” were able to speak, while the rest of them just “howled and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces” to communicate to one another. Conrad believed that the “savages” in Africa weren’t even given the mental capability to speak a language like every other human just because of their color. At first glance, when Conrad gave the ability to speak to two of the “monsters” it seemed like he was giving them a sudden act of generosity. Unfortunately, he needed to use their words to express the dumb brute’s “unspeakable craving in their hearts,” cannibalism. It is concerning that Conrad’s thought process was common for this time period and I am overjoyed that it has changed for the better over time. Conrad’s expression of Africa was often viewed as a normal one while in the 1800’s, but in today’s society, Chinua Achebe and many other critics can easily see how Conrad was a vulgar racist who also had the ability to write beautifully. 

The image of Africa and Africans in today’s world was widely different from the image of authors in the 1800s. Conrad was criticized and exposed for his 1800 beliefs by both Chinua Achebe and myself. The definition of human is clearly defined in today’s society and there is an understanding that everyone must be treated equally. In the 1800’s, this definition wasn’t clearly defined and Conrad believed that he was better than the “savages.” Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t able to recognize that those “savages” had all the same DNA as himself and just had a different skin tone.  From “An Image of Africa” by Chinua Achebe, one can see how widely criticized Joseph Conrad’s writing style was, which is important because it shows how a person’s view of the image of Africa has changed over the past hundreds of years. 
