Heart of Darkness Lecture Four: Is This Novel Racist?

[@azaanbrown6897]

Whew, this video definitely helped me out with my Individual Oral Presentations :)!

[@OxfordCommaEducation]

Glad to hear it!

[@Hudthestuddy]

When a book is published, the reader becomes the interpreter and the author in a sense. The reader has complete control over what themes arise and what meaning they get from the reading. This seems best fit for Heart of Darkness. Conrad writes those racially charged and demeaning descriptions of the natives to be spoken by Marlow. It is the reader's choice to assume whether or not such descriptions are spoken by Marlow or Conrad. If you feel like Conrad is projecting his own beliefs then you can interpret the meaning as such; if you feel like Conrad is trying to shape Marlow into a racist for the purposes of the novel then it seems that the book criticizes the society in which Conrad lived. Either way seems to have merit; however, don't be so quick to judge the morals of an author through the characters they write because you have no idea what they were truly thinking.

[@spontaneousdentalhydroplos9150]

Conrad is a racist so now we can assume the novel is racist.

[@tyhabedank6170]

Wonderful interpretation of this novel.

[@tmitchellbarker]

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[@yeadontwearitout]

I don't know what to think of this book as upset and uncomfortable as it made me but there's much here worth discussing. About the book itself and the author. I have to wonder if something so derogatory is ever really worth sifting through for literary meaningfulness. You can argue it was a product of its time but its overtly offensive to the point where you begin to wonder if the message and meaning of the book could have been made without resorting to refering to the black natives as practically every nasty racial insult or sterotype under the sun. I just can't help but criticize the author and think he was wrong for the insensitive/distasteful way this book was written by him. To help make my point, I wouldn't pardon a slave owner in any era they live in nor would I give this author a pass - yet the question of "is what he has to say worth exploring?" remains. In any case, I recommend accompany this novella by reading the debate between Chinua Achebe and Caryl Phillips discussing the author and whether or not Joseph Conrad is racist for some insight on this matter.

[@AliAsghar-eu1ri]

Plz send me any link for this suitable question answer

[@AliAsghar-eu1ri]

Thank you genius sir

[@purplexman89]

Mules: are half donkey half horse Donkey: is a donkey Horse: is a horse

[@AliAsghar-eu1ri]

Plz send me any link about this ? Answer

[@OxfordCommaEducation]

Hi Ali, did you see my response on your other comment? Hope it helps!

[@Random-xs8dp]

Great Video Series.

[@OxfordCommaEducation]

Thanks! Glad it could be of some help!

[@runswithbears3517]

I don't agree. The novel isn't racist, as racism means that you believe one kind of human to be better than another. Conrad's whole point is that European or African, at the heart we're all the same.

[@angelharmony1144]

RunsWithBears Conrad's book is racist! In the book on page 20 Conrad writes "they were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now-- nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation...." It shows that black people there were meaningless, and just had no use. Putting them beneath Europeans, not equals. Chinua Achebe goes into depth about this in "Things fall apart" about Conrad's book. Either u didn't have a good teacher to teach u this book or ur racist yourself justifying this book as "not" racist.

[@jpkissel86]

@@angelharmony1144 And the point flies straight over your head.

[@2006IZ]

When it comes to fiction it shouldn't be is the book racist, or the writer

[@2006IZ]

And Conrad didn't

[@ezequielvega3120]

The tricky BS move: the universality of human condition that applies to all humans. Racist Lit: Whites protrayed as complex characters with profound psicological and existential contadictions. Blacks portrayed as empty entities like a mere backdrop.

[@alecsanderhamilton9224]

Who is the Nigerian writer? Spell his name?

[@OxfordCommaEducation]

Chinua Achebe. He's a fantastic author. You should check out his novel, Things Fall Apart.

[@AliAsghar-eu1ri]

But infact i have one issue which is that . Sir ,i am not a british therefore cannot understand your lecture thoroughly Is "Heart of darkness "as a racist novella ? This queation also occur in my exams 2 times and marks 17 I have no idea how can i manage this question ....

[@OxfordCommaEducation]

Great question! It certainly uses racist language and descriptions. However, it also heavily criticizes and brings light to the horrendous actions of the European colonizers and treasure hunters. Short answer: within it's own historical context, the novel is trying to advocate for Africa. Yet, it fails to do so because Conrad reduces the Africans in the novel to stereotypical symbols and themes. Modern readers certainly need to approach it with discernment.

[@OxfordCommaEducation]

@Leigh Anne You're welcome!