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Example research essay topic: Position Joseph Heart Of Darkness - 1,949 words

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Position Paper: Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" The accusation of racism nowadays is being widely used by the pushers of left-wing agenda to effectively silence their opponents. In fact, the issue of racism in America is a like a rush: the more it gets scratched the more it itches. According to watchdogs of political correctness, it is found everywhere. No social institution is spared from it. The paranoia over this issue in America gains more and more momentum. China Achebe's article An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness is a good example of how writers are able to disguise their pursuit of political agenda as literary criticism.

Achebe accuses Joseph Conrad of being racist, because he realistically portraits Black people in his Heart of Darkness. Back in 19 th century, there was no political-correctness, which allowed European writers and scientists to pursue their professional goals without a fear of being labeled racist. 19 th century yielded more scientific discoveries than any other, including 20 th century. White people were exploring new lands and colonizing them. Very often, they would encounter scenes of primitive savagery, especially when they traveled through Africa. Therefore, it was quite natural for them to express their vision of Africa in very honest and logical way. Europeans travelers to Africa in 19 th century could not find even slightest preconditions for scientific and cultural progress there.

This is why they used to refer to Africa as dark continent, in both, physical and metaphorical senses of this word. Achebe points out to the following passages from Conrad's book as the most racist ones: We were wanderers on a prehistoric earth, on an earth that wore the aspect of an unknown planet. We could have fancied ourselves the first of men taking possession of an accursed inheritance, to be subdued at the cost of profound anguish and of excessive toil The prehistoric man was cursing us, praying to us, welcoming us who could tell? ... They howled and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces; but what thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity like yours the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar. Ugly (Conrad, part 2). But arent the White travelers to countries like Haiti feel in the same way even now, while staying in secluded hotels for foreigners, where there is almost no chance for them to meet locals?

Dont they need to undergo intense vaccination, before taking off to countries like Niger, where Medicare became virtually non-existent, since White missionaries had left, after having realized the futility of their attempts to bring locals to God? Nowadays, many Black Americans travel to Africa in search of their spiritual roots. But usually neither of them would want to visit Africa again, after coming back from the trip. Their attitude also changes; they refuse to be called Afro-Americans and want to be simply Americans. Achebe accuses Conrad for being too frank, while describing Marlow's impressions of Africa, in the book that was written by White person for White people.

This is because that he is simply unable to comprehend the sheer horror of White individual, at the turn of 20 th century, who witnessed scenes of cannibalism. For Achebe, this might represent some sort of unique self expression, on the part of Africans, but civilized person will never be able to understand it. It was one of the reasons why Europeans were able to enslave Africans with such moral ease they simply never considered Black aborigines to be humans, in the full sense of this word. Joseph Conrad is as much racist as Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison or Lord Byron used to be.

In fact, the main character of Heart of Darkness Marlow expresses pity over the fact that Africans were being mercilessly exploited by European colonizers: They were all dying slowly it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom (Conrad, part 3). Yet, this is not good enough for Achebe. The ultimate expression of racism for him is not the genocidal practices of White people in Africa, but the fact that they could never bring themselves up to recognizing Blacks as their equals: Marlow/Conrad touched all the best minds of the age in England, Europe and America. It took different forms in the minds of different people but almost always managed to sidestep the ultimate question of equality between white people and black people (Achebe).

What insults Achebe the most is patronizing attitude, on the part of Europeans. For him, this is the root of all evils. However, Achebe fails to understand that such attitude is the most non-racist gesture that the White man can come up with. This is why, we can say that Conrad's Heart of Darkness is both racist and not. It all depends on the point of view we are going to adopt, while analyzing Conrad's novel. If someone gets insulted by Heart of Darkness, it is better for him to ignore it altogether, instead of trying to impose his point of view on everybody else, as Achebe does.

Caryl Phillips in her article Out of Africa suggests that we simply cannot deny the legitimacy to European literature of 19 th century, because some self-appointed guardians of political-correctness tell us to do so: I am still finding it difficult to dismiss this man (Conrad) and his short novel. Are we to throw all racists out of the canon? Are we, as Achebe suggests, to ignore the period in which novels are written and demand that the artist rise above the prejudices of his times? (Phillips). The biggest problem derives from the fact that Achebe bases his critical review on the idea of uniformity between African and European mindsets. This, of course, is wrong.

We are now being told that the cultural value of primitive African figurines, carved out of wood, is equal to the cultural value of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures. This might very well be the case, but this point of view is clearly of Black origin. It might be absolutely correct, but only for Black people, because Whites sense of artistic finesse is based upon absolutely different principles. It appears that Achebe would still be able to find racist motives in Conrad's novel, even after the most provocative passages would be deleted. This is because the promotion of the idea of white guilt has nothing to do with establishing the historical truth. It is being motivated by strictly economical reasons.

White people constitute 6 % of worlds population. By the year of 2050 this number will shrink to 2 %. Yet, even Black people in Africa now recall the time of European colonization as the best period in history of their nations, because back then, trains used to arrive on schedule, Medicare was provided equally to all and there were no mass rapes taking place, as it happens in South Africa nowadays. Therefore, the notion of white mans burden is not just an imperialist excuse for continuous exploitation of Native people, throughout the world.

The colonial trade enabled Western civilization to progress rapidly, but it was also benefiting the people all over the world. Even now, when we talk about civilization, we refer to Western cultural and scientific achievements, because there are simply no others. The ultimate goal of people like Achebe is to reverse the progress. However, it is doubtful of whether biological evolution can be subjected to wishful thinking. High optimism engendered by the breathtaking achievements of Western science and industry is giving way to doubt and even confusion. There is just the possibility that Western man may begin to look seriously at the achievements of other people says Achebe in his article, although, he does not specify such achievements.

The reason is very simple they only exist in his imagination. It is quite understandable why Achebe does not like Conrad's novel. This is because that it does not contain the notions of diversity or equality. In fact, Heart of Darkness shows the artificial nature of politically correct terminology. Achebe considers Conrad's masterpiece as being socially dangerous, because it threatens the very principles, upon which the politically correct version of history is being based. Achebe was able to make a good living through encouraging White people to feel bad about themselves, therefore, he did not like the idea of anyone challenging his point of view.

We can say that Achebe would be much better off analyzing Black literature, because than, the validity of his arguments would not be undermined by the conflict of interests. Heart of Darkness promotes the idea of progress, intelligence and it also shows that the moral principles, which are based on Christian dogma, do not correspond to the objective reality. However, for Achebe, as just for any Black person, Conrad's novel is nothing but racist piece of garbage, even though that it belongs to the classics of European literature of 19 th century. No argument can ever convince the opposing parties to change their view of this novel, which only further undermines the myth of equality among people.

As George Orwell once said in his Animal Farm - all animals are equal, but the pigs are the most equal of all. Thus, it is quite impossible to prove beyond reasonable doubt of whether Conrad's novel is racist or not. Nevertheless, we can say that it is certainly objective. For thousands and thousands of years, Africans lived in a Stone Age, without being able to progress technologically and culturally. This is a fact.

They had no written history, before the arrival of Europeans and most of them were cannibals. This is also a fact. Despite this, Achebe criticizes Conrad for being unable to think of Black people as equal. In his article, Achebe, just as any promoter of tolerance, engages in application of hateful labels to one of the most prominent writers of 19 th century. Nevertheless, as someone who is being often referred to as the father of modern Black literature and black genius, Achebe should have known the simple fact that history is not a fairy tale. It has always been a constant struggle between nations and races for the place under the sun.

We can suggest that primitive savage, with a vocabulary of 150 words, who runs around with the spear in his hand, is actually being equal to some European intellectual of 19 th century, but it does not take a professor to realize the sheer foolishness of such statement. There is nothing wrong about wishful thinking, but one must understand that it had never motivated a historical progress. This is why only hopelessly brainwashed individuals can think of Achebe's arguments as such that have academic validity. Bibliography: Achebe, China An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness. 2000. The Modern World. 17 Mar. 2007. web Conrad, Joseph Heart of Darkness. 2006.

The Project Gutenberg EBook. 17 Mar. 2007. web Phillips, Caryl Out of Africa. 22 Feb. 2003. Guardian Unlimited. 17 Mar. 2007. web Jackson, Thomas What is Racism? 2 May, 2001. Stormfront. Racialist Library. 17 Mar. 2007.

web March of the Titans: History of White Race. 2005. White History. Com. 17 Mar. 2007. web Miller, Call South Africa's Shame: an Epidemic of Child Rapes. 2002. FindArticles.

Com. 17 Mar. 2007. web Niger. Travel Advice. 2007. Smart Traveler. Government of Australia. 17 Mar. 2007. web The Killing of Whites In South Africa...

And America's Silence. 2000. Range. Com. 17 Mar. 2007. web US Blacks Demand Slavery Reparations. 17 Aug. 2002. BBC News. 17 Mar. 2007. web


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Research essay sample on Position Joseph Heart Of Darkness

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