In Chinua Achebe’s An Image of Africa, he talks about Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and how Conrad is a lying, over exaggerating writer as he explains Conrad’s Heart of Darkness more in depth and analyzes what Conrad meant in his 1899 piece, which now is considered a classic among most schools. Throughout Achebe’s lecture, he claims that Conrad’s meaning of his story is not as subtle as it may come across.  Conrad is trying to say that these people in this new world are inferior to him and he writes his story.  Achebe exposes Conrad’s true meaning by emphasizing his points with the use of literary elements such as repetition and striking imagery.  With the proper uses of these elements, Achebe reveals what Conrad was trying to say about this new foreign land.

One of the main devices that Achebe uses to emphasize his point is repetition.  He puts emphasis on the words “black” and “dark” that Conrad uses in his book (Achebe).  The quote “A black figure stood up, strode on long black legs, waving long black arms” is a prime example of repetition (Achebe, 59).  Achebe specifically chooses this sentences from Heart of Darkness to show the negative connotation that Conrad puts with the word black.  The fact that Achebe points out that Conrad uses the word black three times in this sentences helps proves Achebe’s underlying theme that Conrad does not see the Africans on the same level as himself or as a person in general.  This also shows Conrad’s weakness at being a diverse writer.  He seems just to be focused on the fact that these people are a different skin tone than him.  He cannot seem to get past this one specific detail.  Achebe makes sure to points this out to the reader to show them that Conrad demonstrates a weakness in writing and how he can only focus on events that are not as important as Conrad makes them to be.  Even Conrad’s title Heart of Darkness is an example of the repetition.  “…they were nothing earthly now- nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation” is another example of repetition used throughout the story (Achebe 57).  Achebe incorporates this into the story to put emphasis on the fact that Conrad again uses the word black as if it is like death.  Achebe wants the reader to understand through the use of repetition of the word black that Conrad is not putting a nice meaning with this word.  Instead, he is putting a negative meaning and comparing the adjective black to death and sorrow.  Achebe wants to make the point that Conrad’s use of repeated word choice shows his true colors of what he meant when he wrote The Heart of Darkness, meaning Achebe emphasizes Conrad’s use of the words “black” and “dark” to show Conrad’s real meanings. 

Achebe also uses striking imagery and vivid vocabulary to get his point across to the readers.  In the quote “The eagle-eyed English critic, F. R. Leavis, drew attention nearly thirty years ago to Conrad’s adjectival insistence upon inexpressible and incomprehensible mystery” (Achebe 54).  Achebe uses descriptive language such as “eagle-eye and inexpressible and incomprehensible mystery” (Achebe 54).  He uses the term eagle-eyed to describe F. R. Leavis saying that he saw through Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness just like Achebe did but without just blatantly saying it.  He also uses the words inexpressible and incomprehensible mystery to describe the fact that Conrad’s mystery of Africa really was not easily understood on the surface but once really looked into and analyzed then Conrad and his real point of the story could be seen right through.  Achebe is driven to show the reader that he is not the only person upset about Conrad’s book.  He makes it apparent that many Africans are not happy with how Conrad describes these people.  The quote:

“But suddenly as we struggled round a bend there would be a glimpse of rush walls, of peaked grass-roots, a burst of yells, a whirl of black limbs, a mass of hands clapping, of feet stamping, of bodies swaying, of eyes rolling under the drop of heavy and motionless foliage. The steamer toiled along slowly on the edge of a black and incomprehensible frenzy. The prehistoric man was cursing us, praying to us, welcoming us -- who could tell?” 

has many examples of Achebe’s use striking imagery (Achebe 54).  This whole quote talks about how Conrad saw the Africans as nothing but savages.  When Achebe points out that Conrad said “…a burst of yells, a whirl of black limbs, a mass of hands clapping, of feet stamping, of bodies swaying, of eyes rolling under the drop of heavy and motionless foliage” his main goal is to use this imagery to show the reader just how Conrad thought of these people and how Conrad really did not see them as people (Achebe 54). He saw them more as animals or soulless swaying bodies.  Conrad describes these animal-people as inhumane and crazy.  He paints a picture in the reader’s head of this black beastly figure who is yelling not words but noises.  He describes this yelling beast to be whirling its black limbs and flailing their bodies around like they are possessed.  Achebe makes sure to point out in this quote that Conrad does not just say arms and legs but “black limbs” as if, again, Conrad is making these people to be more like strange, crazy creatures.       

Achebe uses literary elements like repetition and striking imagery and vivid vocabulary to pull the reader in, to really make the reader look past the surface of just the words on the paper and analyze what is really happening in Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness.  Throughout An Image of Africa that is Achebe’s main goal is to show the reader what was Conrad’s true purpose of his writing.  Without the uses of Achebe’s literary elements, An Image of Africa would not have the same passion and strong leading points that it presents now.  

 