In his essay “An Image of Africa,” Chinua Achebe
argues that people hold up Heart of Darkness as not only one of the greatest
stories about imperialism ever written, but as one of the greatest stories of
all time. The story is taught in schools across the country, usually with the
intention of framing it as a great masterwork against colonialism. Achebe,
however, argues that Heart of Darkness should not even be called a great work.
This is because of the otherness that Conrad places between himself and the
Africans. Conrad, through narrator Marlowe, treats Africa like another world -
a world of savagery compared to the civility of Europe. He treats the Africans
he encounters like alien creatures, whose humanity horrifies and disgusts him. He
frequently compares the native Congolese to animals, describing them with
monstrous, wild terms. Marlowe is distraught at the fact that these savage, barbaric
Africans are of the same species as him. Europe is held up as a guiding light,
bringing enlightenment and civility to the backwards, dark, ferocious Congo.
The character of Kurtz is ultimately so terrifying to Marlowe because he is an
intelligent, white European who “goes native” and becomes one with the jungle.
In Francis Ford Coppola’s critically acclaimed
movie Apocalypse Now, the same principles are applied to the Vietnamese and
Cambodians. They are also portrayed as savage, animalistic, and simple minded.
Meanwhile, American soldiers are supposed to be troops of heroic saviors,
bringing democracy and freedom to Vietnam. This viewpoint is used to justify
the war – because these native people are viewed as inhuman and alien, no one
objects to slaughtering them. The same principle is seen in Heart of Darkness,
where the separation and otherness between Africans and Europeans is used to
justify their enslavement and exploitation. Both the Americans and Europeans
are convinced that only they know how to construct a civilization, and view
their actions in Vietnam and the Congo as philanthropic and necessary.
I like how you cited Conrad's belief that Europe is a civil guiding light for the world as a main reason that the Congolese are seen as savages because it shows the irony of the situation. Although Europe may have had more advanced infrastructure and the enlightenment, they are the ones who end up acting barbaric towards other human beings. The prejudice and superiority complex turns the Europeans into monsters themselves, a fault that they are unable to recognize.
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