Conrad's 1898 novella, based on his own experiences as a riverboat captain on his only voyage to the Congo, is today a contested book. Two particular attacks, by Chinua Achebe and Edward Said, level accusations of racism and imperialism at Conrad himself, invoking his regular use of the N-word and his depiction of the Africans that Marlow encounters throughout. Regarding the n-word, that is purely contextual. Conrad was writing at a time when it was common parlance, and it is important for us to understand that there was such a time, whatever our modern sensibilities suggest. Again, with the way that Africans are depicted throughout the novella, it reflects Conrad's own experiences, and the deliberate use he makes of stereotypes throughout the story. The fundamental is that Conrad sees through the hypocrisy and cant of European imperialism and colonialism, and skewers the brutish, undeserved superiority of the white men ripping resources from the country they believed should be their plaything.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.