Cursory thoughts on Achebe's criticisms of Heart of Darkness

Disclaimer: As specified in class by Dr. Koh, this entry shall strive to keep its length within the limits of 300 words.


One has to be cautious or reflexive when dealing with the question of the narrator, or narration: To whom does the voice belong? An implication of this consideration would be, the impulsion of any voice does not extend, necessarily or simply, from just one singular source. The voice of the text isn’t that which utters only at a singular register, but as a reflection of the concord of voices blending over counterpoints and dissonances to constitute a speaking whole. The contention of which would lead us into the realm of the ventriloquist: in the passages quoted by Achebe, the character Marlowe speaks; but Achebe claims these passages as evidence of Conrad’s inherent racism, the implication of which would be the absolute (or should one say imperialistic?) denial of any possibility that Conrad could have deployed that voice (the racist voice of Marlowe) as a strategy to inform the reader of a particular attitude towards apprehending the dark continent’s Other. For on a literal level, the text registers as a narrative of Marlowe’s narrative of his African exploits, and Achebe’s contention seems to lie with only this latter aspect of Conrad’s text: Marlowe’s narrative. Achebe appears to have excluded from his consideration the entire passage that begins the novella before Marlowe himself begins to speak (and one asks: To whom does this voice belong? Conrad’s or someone else’s?). Would a consideration of these passages subtract from what Achebe has to say in his criticisms, or would it enhance his position? In any case, Achebe’s reasoning could be summarized as follows: because Marlowe exhibits racist traits in his narrative of the African Other, hence Conrad is racist; or, hence Conrad must be in agreement with whatever racist sensibilities that Marlowe might have. Very problematic indeed.

(293 words, excluding disclaimer)

--- Yisa