Achebe’s “An Image of Africa” interprets Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” as racist. There are many ways Achebe proves that the “Heart of Darkness” can be seen as racist, such as his use of words like savage, unhuman, and inferior. Others believe that Conrad was not racist but that Achebe’s interpretations were racist or that the racism was simply overlooked because of the time period and use of language. When “Heart of Darkness” was published in 1899, slavery was abolished but whites and blacks were still segregated. The segregation caused racial issues to be overlooked because it was normal for the two races to be against each other. In 1961, “Image of Africa” was able to point out the racist references due to the high action of the Brown v. Board of Education Case and Civil Rights movement. Many people see that Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” is racist, others believe that Achebe’s interpretations were racist, and some believe that racism was simply overlooked before “The Image of Africa”. The “Image of Africa” helps point out how racist Conrad was in the “Heart of Darkness”. 

 Chinua Achebe believed that Conrad was a racist based on his language. He showed this by pointing out the repetitive use of the word “savages” in Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”. Joseph Conrad does not refer to Africans in a good manner, instead he makes Africans seem inferior to whites by using vulgar language. Marlow describes his “unforgettable Englishman” in a positive and kind manner unlike when he describes Africans. Conrad uses “savage” to describe Africans as well as their culture. Chinua Achebe quotes Joseph Conrad, “And between whiles I had to look after the savage who was fireman” to show that Conrad uses savage as an adjective to describe people, specifically Africans (Conrad 55). Conrad describes the Africans as inhuman and unintelligent. He says “They howled and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces; but what thrilled you was just the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar. Ugly” (Conrad 55). Achebe also states that “He would not use the word “brother” however qualified; the farthest he would go was “kinship” (Achebe 57). Achebe also points out that the “Heart of Darkness” creates the image that Africa is “the other world, the antithesis of Europe and therefore of civilization” like Africa is an alien planet. Chinua Achebe points out how Conrad would refer to Africans in ways different from whites. 

“Heart of Darkness” was racist to many based on interpretations before Achebe wrote the “Image of Africa”. “Heart of Darkness” was published in 1899 and at that point interactions between different races, specifically whites and blacks, were unorthodox. The “Heart of Darkness” is also seen as racist from the interpretations of the readers. Whites often think races other than their own are abnormal or alien-like. The language that Joseph Conrad chooses can be seen as demeaning to Africans using words such as “savage” and “kinship”. His language also creates a sense that Africans are not as intelligent as whites. Chinua Achebe was not the first to discover the amount of racism in the “Heart of Darkness” however, he was the first to point it out. When the “Image of Darkness” was published in 1961 it was unusual for an academic professor to criticize a classic novella. 

The “Heart of Darkness” can also be seen as racist because of the way Achebe interprets it. Achebe points out how Conrad paints a bad image of Africans and their country. Chinua describes Africans as barbaric and inhuman. He also describes their country as “the other world”. Achebe states “Certainly, Conrad had a problem with niggers” (Achebe 59). Achebe creates the feeling that Conrad has a strictly racist mindset based on the way he describes Africans in comparison to the Englishman. He specifically points out all of the times Conrad refers to Africans as savages. He also refers to all of the negative comments Conrad uses about Africans in the “Heart of Darkness”. Achebe tries to defend Africans and African culture in the “Image of Africa”. Achebe is also a Nigerian novelist which can influence his opinion.

African readers will see the “Heart of Darkness” as an offensive way of describing them, while white readers will overlook the racism due to their culture. The background of a person heavily influences the way they form opinions on social issues. Such is the reason why Africans and whites form different opinions when it comes to determining what is racist and what is not. For example, Chinua Achebe is a Nigerian novelist which could have influenced his opinion on the “Heart of Darkness”. People in power also influences whites and Africans to be racist because they tell people that the people of opposite skin color are bad people. Socially high people can also persuade an opinion on racism using their status to convince people that their opinions are the right opinions. 

Chinua Achebe proves that Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” is seen as a racist novella based on many factors such as the descriptive words used, the language used, and the interpretations of the readers and the published interpretation of Chinua Achebe. The main reason the “Heart of Darkness” is seen as racist is because of the language Joseph Conrad selected in writing his novella. Conrad uses “inhuman” and “savage” as a way to describe Africans and their culture. Joseph Conrad also describes Africa as another world. Achebe works to defend Africans and their culture in the “Image of Africa” by pointing out the ways Conrad criticizes Africa. The “Heart of Darkness” also can be seen as racist from the interpretations of the readers with different backgrounds. The “Image of Africa” causes the “Heart of Darkness” to be perceived as a racist story based on Achebe’s perception.
