1. Does Conrad really "otherize," or impose racist ideology upon, the Africans in Heart of Darkness, or does Achebe merely see Conrad from the point of view of an African? Is it merely a matter of view point, or does there exist greater underlying meaning in the definition of racism? 2. How does Achebe"s personal history and the context in which he wrote "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad"s Heart of Darkness" reflect the manner in which he views Conrad"s idea of racism in the novel? 3. Taking into account Achebe"s assumptions and analysis of racism in Heart of...
and atrocities in the past and continues to do so in many ways and many places today. [He is] talking about a story in which the very humanity of black people is called into question" 15 However, Achebe partly does save the reputation of Conrad when he concedes that "Conrad did not originate the image of Africa which we find in his book. It was and is the dominant image of Africa in the Western imagination...Conrad saw and condemned the evil of imperial exploitation but was strangely unaware of the racism on which it sharpened its iron tooth." 19