Heart Of Darkness: Racist or not?

This reading was the most challenging for me for many reasons. The question that's been on my mind this whole time though is what the point of this reading was. Why did Conrad write it? Of course, it shows why imperialism was awful, however the views on it being racist are mixed. Marlow states “The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much.” I noticed that Marlow’s descriptions of white people versus black people are very important in order to answer this question. Marlow states “I met a white man, in such an unexpected elegance of get up that in the first moment I took him for a sort of vision.I saw a high starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket, snowy trousers, a clear necktie, and varnished boots. No hat. Hair parted, brushed, oiled, under a green-lined parasol held in a big white hand. He was amazing and had a penholder behind his ear.” This is his idea of describing a white man, leaving the reader with the idea that this man is policed and responsible. In their culture, this can be seen as good. While his description of black people is different “Six black men advanced in a file, toiling up the path. They walked erect and slow, balancing small baskets full of earth on their heads, and the clink kept time with their footsteps. Black rags were wound round their lions, and the short ends behind waggled to and fro like tails. I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had an iron collar on his neck, and all were connected together with a chain whose bights swung between them, rhythmically clinking.” This makes black people not only seem very different, but also depicts them like animals. Notice the symbolism of the collar and the rags looking like tails, which is intentional writing. Throughout the book Marlow describes the black people in the book as savage or other descriptors to mean animalistic. When their culture was simply different than his. This is what separates whether the reading was racist or not. It was racist because no matter what, it failed to realize the difference between cultures. Marlow is still stuck in a very black and white way of thinking. Them versus us, culturally wise. According to Stephanie Pappas, most people do actually have racist tendencies and a lot of these are actually because of the culture that one has grown up in. That however does not mean that someone can blame being racist on their culture. One has to take responsibility and change themself. Kurtz is not one to be glorified either, while he did start to interact more with the natives, he actually did become a savage. I do not mean savage in the way Marlow and the other white people were, I mean he used others for his gain and this tribe was just another way to gain what he wanted using force. Kurtz used his power over the tribe, because they thought he was a god to get what he wanted. That is what a savage is, not someone who has a different culture than you. This commonly even happens nowadays, thankfully most people don’t call others savages, but we do things like make little girls go home from school because they have their natural hair instead of spending tons of money or hours trying to get their hair into what white culture wants it to be. According to Marquaysa Battle, “Black girls are still being discriminated against for wearing their natural hair the way it grows from their heads. Not only are they asked to change their hair to fit mainstream standards, but they often have their education threatened when they refuse to conform.

From having their class sessions interrupted, to being threatened with suspension and expulsion, school officials can't seem to stop obsessing over black girls' hair.” The idea of different cultures not understanding each other is still a very common thing.  

 

Works cited

Battle, Marquaysa. “8 Times Schools Let Black Girls' Hair Interfere With Their Education.” Elite Daily, Elite Daily, 7 May 2019, www.elitedaily.com/life/culture/black-girls-natural-hair-racism-schools/1953497.

Pappas, Stephanie. “Culture Poisons Brain With Racism, Study Finds.” LiveScience, Purch, 2 Oct. 2011, www.livescience.com/16339-culture-racism.html.