Many consider Heart of Darkness to be one of the greatest works of art in history. However, recently, people are starting to debate this. Some have argued that Heart of Darkness is also one of the most racist works in history. Chinua Achebe, a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic, proves his racism through his writing, “An Image of Africa.” Achebe points out how Conrad always references people’s body parts instead of them as individuals; Conrad’s use of excessive and detailed repetition and focus on phrases such as “a whirl of black limbs” and “black legs” is illustrated through “An Imagine of Africa.” This demonstrates Conrad’s extreme racist behavior in his text by breaking down Africans into individual body parts, rather than seeing them as whole people. This matters because Heart of Darkness is not an extraordinary piece of art, but rather a writing that dehumanizes and criticizes the African race down to their physical limbs.

For example, Conrad writes, “A black figure stood up, strode on long black legs, waving long black arms” (Achebe 59). This sentence demonstrates Conrad’s repetitive tendency to distinguish both the color of the man’s skin and his body parts. The text reminds the reader that the human is an African and the author’s racist attitude. Someone obviously would not have black legs and then white arms. So, it was very unnecessary for Conrad to repeatedly say his skin color. By stating both parts of the man’s body, the text breaks down the whole into individual parts. This racism matters because something that is so offensive to a certain group should not be celebrated. There are so many novels that are just as excellent that do not offend people. It is important to keep everyone’s feelings in mind. Being inconsiderate of others creates an unhealthy environment and prevents a hateful cycle. 

There are plenty of examples where Conrad is racist through not referring to people as a whole. For instance, Conrad mentions “black limbs.” He writes, 

“But suddenly, as we struggled round a bend, there would be a glimpse of rush walls, of peaked grass-roofs, 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 droop of heavy and motionless foliage” (Achebe 54).  

This quote portrays how Conrad references one’s body parts frequently. He mentions limbs, hands, feet, and eyes in one sentence. By doing this, he proves the point that Conrad does not respect Africans enough to treat them as a person, but rather an individual part. Although, Conrad uses excellent diction in this quote through his strong verbs, his writing is still not a piece of art. Conrad hurts many when he refers to Africans as “black limbs.” In the twenty-first century, racism is no longer acceptable in any form. 

Even in situation of death Conrad still manages to refer to people as body, instead of them as real people. For instance, he writes, 

“As for the announcement of Mr. Kurtz’s death by the “insolent black head of the doorway”, what better or more appropriate finis could be written to the horror story of that wayward child of civilization who willfully had given his soul to the powers of darkness and “taken a high seat amongst the devils of the land”…” (Achebe 56). 

This sentence illustrates how Conrad dwells on the individual body parts. When someone is dying, Conrad refers to his “black head,” instead as looking at him as a whole person. By stating his “black head,” it not only breaks down the man’s body, but also provides a more graphic meaning to the death portrayed in this example.

Through Chinua Achebe’s “An Image of Africa” one can see how racist Conrad is by always viewing Africans as body parts, not people as a whole. In today’s day and age this is not just acceptable. Even though, the Heart of Darkness was set in 1899, when things were different, it is not alright for this novel to be celebrated or praised today. Some people believe that it is acceptable to be openly racist. Some do not view the piece of work as racist, they see it as telling a story of a horrific genocide that happened so long ago. 

A counter argument for the issue of racism is the fact that some readers do not focus on the racist diction. They focus on the overall graphic imagery and details into what occurred in the piece. Heart of Darkness gives the reader a descriptive look into the horrible genocide that occurred on the island. This is why the book has been praised so much, for the imagery and details the book portrays for the reader. Most readers praise the book for its content rather than its context. They believe because of the time period that the author should not be penalized or berated due to the diction he used in the book. 

In conclusion, this book is racist because the author dehumanizes the Africans by referencing their body parts instead of the person himself. This is unacceptable in today’s society due to changing social patterns and more progressive world views. 