Chinua Achebe & Joseph

Conrad
A comparison of two authors who present
Africa in different ways.
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Contents
Introduction 3
Chinua Achebe Things Fall Apart 3
Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness 5
Criticism of Conrad
Criticism of Achebe !
Colonialism" imperialism and politics in Africa #$
%ealism a form rather than method #3
Conclusion #5
&orks Cited #'
(
Introduction thesis statement and approach
In this essa) I *ill focus on the realism of t*o *ell kno*n no+els, -) main
aim *ith this essa) *ill be to compare Joseph Conrad.s Heart of Darkness and Chinua
Achebe/s Things Fall Apart, 0oth books deal *ith colonialism and imperialism in one *a) or
another and that is a sub1ect that I *ill present in the essa), I feel that in order to make the
comparison as +alid as possible I need to bring in some research on Africa in order to kno*
*hat Africa *as like during the time period described, After this conte2tualisation it *ill be
easier to see *hich of the t*o authors *ho gi+es us the most realistic +ie* of Africa, Another
area I *ill discuss concerns aspects that ma) ha+e had an effect on the t*o author.s +ie* of
Africa" such as racial issues, The theme racial issues *ill be a big part of this essa), The
focus *ill mostl) lie on the racial perspecti+es of both no+els and ho* the *hite people
treated the Africans, All of this leads to m) main 3uestions" *hich can be formulated thus4
*hich author gi+es us the most realistic +ie* of Africa" and *hat effects do their *ritings
reall) ha+e5
I *ill e2plore ans*ers to m) 3uestions *ith the help of literar) theories of
realism and the sociolog) of literature, 0uilding on these theories I *ill look for reference
points in the t*o no+els" Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart, I *ill also present some
of the criticism that the authors ha+e recei+ed for these no+els, It *ill be interesting to see if
the criticism is similar" but also to see *h) Achebe critici6es Conrad,
Chinua Achebe Things Fall Apart
Chinua Achebe.s Things Fall Apart is a +er) interesting book, The stor) takes
place in Africa during the time of colonialism, In this no+el *e follo* the life of a man
named 7konk*o and his e2perience of the colonisation of Africa, The book is di+ided into
three parts, 8art one is about 7konk*o/s life in his tribe and about ho* successful he *as
until he committed an a*ful crime b) mistake, In part one *e are introduced to African
culture through Achebe.s description of the Ibo tribe, 7ne ma) think that these Africans are
sa+ages" but actuall) the) had man) great abilities, The art of con+ersation and the use of
pro+erbs are regarded +er) highl) b) this tribe, &e also read about their clothing and food
customs, Another thing that is good *ith part one and the description of the tribe is that
Achebe is realistic, He does not tr) to make the Ibo9tribe look good" instead he sho*s us their
good and bad sides" if one is allo*ed to call them that, 7ne thing that makes the reader think
of the people in the tribe as sa+ages is some of their customs, &hen a man returns from *ar
3
*ith the head of the enem) he is celebrated" someho* that gi+es )ou the impression that the
people are not satisfied *ith 1ust protecting their +illage, The) *ant to kill their enemies and
do it brutall),
:oung girls are treated like trading goods" *hich is another bad thing, &hen a
crime has been committed affecting different clans" a meeting is held and the clans decide if
the) *ill go to *ar *ith each other or if the clan affected *ill ha+e a compensation for the
crime that *as committed against them, The compensation ma) be that the clan recei+es a
)oung girl *ho is a +irgin or" sometimes" a bo) *ho can be helpful during *orking seasons,
;ick people are not treated" instead the) are put in to e2ile and thro*n a*a) to an e+il forest
and left to die, Thus" in part one *e learn a great deal about the good and bad sides of this
African tribe" but the main thing is that *e are introduced to their culture and because of this
*e understand them better, %eligion is an important aspect throughout the stor) and in part
one *e are told about the Ibo9tribe.s spiritual life, The) all ha+e personal gods called chi and
for consultation the) ha+e an oracle and the oracle.s priestess" and these t*o ha+e been gi+en
the po*er of their god,
The Africans in the Ibo9tribe can sometime beha+e like sa+ages" <In =muofia.s
latest *ar he *as the first to bring home a human head, That *as his fifth head> and he *as
not an old man )et, 7n great occasions such as the funeral of a +illage celebrit) he drank his
palm9*ine from his first human head,? @Achebe ($$$" !A, Although the Africans in this tribe
sometimes beha+e like sa+ages the) are still +er) ci+ili6ed, In the case of a crime *ithin the
same clan the) ha+e a trial *here both the affected parties are allo*ed to present their cases"
after *hich a decision is taken, 7ne thing *orth mentioning is the treatment of *omen,
Throughout the *hole book *omen are presented as less +aluable than men, -en *ho sho*
affection are seen as *omen since affection is considered to be a female abilit), The onl)
emotion that is considered to be <male? is the emotion of anger,
The second part of the stor) is about 7konk*o.s se+en )ears in e2ile" his
punishment for committing a crime, During this second part of the stor) *e are also
introduced to the *hite people for the first time, The ne*s about ho* the *hite people *iped
out the *hole Abame clan" reached 7konk*o, The po*er of the *hite people gro*s stronger
and stronger, The) ha+e taken o+er =muofia" the) start to build churches and con+ert people
to Christianit), A problem occurs *hen the Africans see ho* the *hite people neglect their
gods and ancestral spirits, 0ecause of that" the Africans chose to e2communicate all the
people from the tribe *ho had con+erted,
8art three is about the domination of the *hite people but also about
B
7konk*o.s return to his +illage after se+en )ears in e2ile, In this part" *e can see ho* the
*hites ha+e destro)ed the Africans li+es and their beliefs completel), The Africans *ho did
not follo* the la*s that *ere made b) the Curopeans *ere thro*n in to 1ail, There is a
passage in the book" that I find +er) interesting, It is *here 7konk*o and 7bierika ha+e a
discussion" <Does the *hite man understand our custom about our land5 Ho* can he *hen he
does not e+en speak our tongue5 0ut he sa)s that our customs are badD? @Achebe ($$$"
#(BA, This passage is +er) interesting and could be connected *ith the other no+el I *ill
focus on" Joseph Conrad.s Heart of Darkness, In connection to 7konk*o.s and 7bierika.s
discussion I *ould like to 3uote Cd*ard 0l)den4 <onl) the Eegro *ill be able to e2plain the
Eegro to the rest of mankind?@Ahlu*alia (#A, I see this 3uote as a kind of ans*er to
7bierika.s 3uestion" and 0l)den.s *ords seem +er) truthful in connection to the no+el, That
the *hite people trul) do not understand the black peoples customs and culture" and the) *ill
onl) understand it if the black people teach them,
&hat 7bierika sa)s is completel) correct but *hat he must kno* is that e+en if
he thinks that the *hite people ha+e come to sa+e the Africans the) also ha+e thoughts of
bringing something of +alue back to their homes, 7f course" all *hite people *ere not e+il"
the) helped the Africans b) opening trading markets so that the Africans could trade man) of
their things and recei+e mone), <The *hite man had indeed brought a lunatic religion" but he
had also built a trading store and for the first time palm9oil and kernel became things of great
price" and much mone) flo*ed into =muofia,? @Achebe ($$$" #(FA, ;chools *ere also
opened to help the Africans become educated" <And so he built a school and a little hospital
in =muofia,? @Achebe ($$$" #(!A, 7ne of the main reasons *h) the relationship bet*een the
black and the *hite people ne+er *as good *as that the) ne+er made an) real attempts to
understand each other better, -r,0ro*n made some attempts but after that there *as no
communication" so that ma) be one of the reasons *h) the situation de+eloped as it did,
<&hene+er -r 0ro*n *ent to that +illage he spent long hours *ith Akunna in his obi talking
through an interpreter about religion, Eeither of them succeeded in con+erting the other but
the) learnt more about their different beliefs,? @Achebe ($$$" #(F,A
The thing that makes Achebe.s book so great is that he uses African *ords and
that his descriptions of different situations gi+es the reader the impression that Achebe has
been a part of that culture, For e2ample" Achebe tells us about different seeds that are planted
and different t)pes of food" *hich gi+es us reason to think that his description of Africa is
realistic, &ithout doubt the thing that makes the stor) so good is the description of the culture
of this African tribe" *hich is in the centre of the stor),
5
Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness
Achebe.s no+el is +er) different from Heart of Darkness, In Conrad.s stor)" *e
follo* a *hite man and his 1ourne) through Africa, This book is also di+ided into three parts,
7ne thing that is +er) interesting in this stor) is the narrator, The stor) is told through one of
four people *ho sit and listen to -arlo*" *ho is narrating the *hole stor), ;ometimes this
can be reall) confusing, Deeper into the stor) *e follo* -arlo*.s 1ourne) to find Gurt6,
-arlo* is chosen to be the captain of a steamboat since the earlier captain had died, -arlo*
has a mission to take the boat do*n Congo %i+er" at least this is the impression" all the *a) to
the coastal station, At one point -arlo* sa)s4
<The best *a) I can e2plain it to )ou is b) sa)ing that for a second or t*o I felt
as though instead of going to the centre of a continent I *ere about to set off for the centre of
the earth? @Conrad #3A, This passage is +er) interesting considering -arlo*.s +ie* of Africa
other*ise, &h) does he see Africa as the centre of the earth5 In another passage" after seeing
Africans li+ing their normal li+es undisturbed b) the *hite people" -arlo* belie+es that he is
seeing the prehistoric man" and sees himself and his cre* as *anderers on a prehistoric earth,
He e+en starts to resemble these <sa+ages?" as he calls them,
<The) ho*led and leaped and spun and made horrid faces" but *hat thrilled )ou
*as 1ust the thought of their humanit)9like )ours9 the thought of )our remote kinship *ith
this *ild and passionate uproar, =gl), :es" it *as ugl) enoughD? @Conrad 3FA
7ne important aspect and a main theme in the book is -arlo*.s criticism of
imperialism, He critici6es imperialism but not from the perspecti+e of the coloni6ed people>
he does not care about them, Instead" he critici6es it because of *hat it does to the *hite man
*ho has to spend time in an unci+ili6ed countr), In his +ie*" the *hite man is taken from the
<ci+ili6ed? Curope into unci+ili6ed countries *here he gro*s +iolent because of the la*less
en+ironment, <I could see e+er) rib" the 1oints of their limbs *ere like knots in a rope" each
had an iron collar on his neck and all *ere connected together *ith a chain *hose bights
s*ung bet*een them" rh)thmicall) clinking? @Conrad #5A, This 3uote sho*s us one of the
effects of coloni6ation and imperialism, Instead of helping the Africans" the Curopeans used
them as sla+es and treated them as animals, In m) +ie*" this 3uote is +er) useful in
describing the effects of coloni6ation, Throughout the stor) one get a sense that Conrad ma)
not be the most lo+ing and caring person in the *orld, In se+eral passages one get the
impression that he is a racist, <&ell if a lot of m)sterious niggers armed *ith all kinds of
F
fearful *eapons suddenl) took to tra+elling H,,,H I fanc) e+er) farm and cottage thereabouts
*ould get empt) +er) soon,? @Conrad #'A, He uses the *ord nigger se+eral times in different
passages and e+en though it is not the author *ho narrates the stor)" he still is a *hite author,
&hen a *hite author uses the *ord nigger in his book" one ma) think that he has some anger
to*ards the black race, Could this be the reason *h) he refers to Africa as the heart of
darkness5 Conrad trul) does not see the good things that can come out of this darkness,
Instead he 1udges them instantl),
There are some things that make this stor) realistic" for e2ample the
descriptions of ho* the Africans are treated, Conrad himself had been in Congo for si2
months but due to sickness he had to return to Curope, ;o there is no doubt as to *hether
Conrad had seen Africa or not, 0ut the 3uestion is ho* he presents Africa"
<in and out of ri+ers" streams of death in life" *hose banks *ere rotting into
mud" *hose *aters" thickened into slime" in+aded the contorted mangro+es that seemed to
*rithe at us in the e2tremit) of an impotent despair,? @Conrad #BA, &as there onl) darkness in
Africa5 &ere all the people sa+ages5 It seems that he gi+es us a picture of Africa *here the
reader is left thinking that there is no more to Africa than i+or), All this can of course depend
on the lack of kno*ledge about Africa, &e cannot e2pect Conrad to kno* e+er)thing about
Africa and their culture after onl) being there for si2 months,
Criticism of Conrad
Achebe has *ritten in his essa)" An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrads Heart
of Darkness, about *hat he sees as racism in Conrad.s Heart of Darkness. In his essa) he
*rites4
<Iuite simpl) it is the desire one might indeed sa) the need in &estern
ps)cholog) to set Africa up as a foil to Curope" as a place of negations at once remote and
+aguel) familiar" in comparison *ith *hich Curope.s o*n state of spiritual grace *ill be
manifest? @Achebe ($$F" 33A, According to Achebe" Heart of Darkness is the book that
represents this need or desire more than man) other no+els @Achebe ($$F" 33A, 7ne thing
that concerns Achebe is the influence that Conrad has in the academic *orld, He reali6es that
there are other books about the same things that Conrad has *ritten about but he sees Conrad
as one of the great st)lists of modern fiction and as a good stor)teller, This is *h) Achebe
thinks that Conrad is on a *hole different le+el than most authors" he sees Conrad.s literature
as standing" lasting" literature that serious academics constantl) *ill form a high opinion

about, This is one thing that concerns Achebe because of the great acclaim of the book along
*ith the celebrations of it, The image that Heart of Darkness pro1ects of Africa is an image of
another *orld" the opposite of Curope" and since Curope is kno*n for its ad+anced
ci+ili6ation" Africa becomes an opposite of ci+ili6ation,
Conrad.s narrati+e is another thing that Achebe finds interesting but that he also
3uestions, Achebe states that Conrad is tr)ing to escape realit) b) ha+ing a narrator behind
the narrator, -arlo* is the primar) narrator *ho is telling the stor) to a second m)sterious
narrator, Another thing that disturbs Achebe is Conrad.s connection *ith the black people,
&hen Conrad describes the Africans he also states that he can connect to them but he
describes that the closest he e+er comes to the Africans is a feeling of kinship, C+en though
Conrad claims that he feels some kinship to the Africans he still dehumani6es them, This
leads to Achebe.s main point" *hich is *hat he sees as the dehumani6ation of Africa and
Africans" and this makes him *onder if one can reall) call a no+el *hich celebrates the
dehumani6ation and that depersonali6es large portions of human race a great *ork of art, 7f
course" Achebe thinks one cannot call it a great *ork of art for the abo+e mentioned reasons"
but e+en if he thinks so he ne+er denies that Conrad has talent, Instead" he 1ust *ants to focus
on the issues of racism since he thinks that Conrad.s good sides alread) ha+e been praised for
so man) )ears,
A central concern in m) essa) is realism and the 3uestion of ho* realistic these
t*o authors actuall) are, In Achebe.s criticism of Conrad he has some thoughts regarding the
realism of Conrad.s stories, Achebe brings up the fact that Conrad tra+elled to the Congo
during his lifetime but he refuses to belie+e Conrad since he feels that he is not ob1ecti+e in
his descriptions, He also refers to Conrad.s o*n biographer *ho sa)s that Conrad is
<notoriousl) inaccurate in the rendering of his o*n stor)? @Achebe ($$F" 3BFA,
Hunt Ha*kins is another critic *ho has *ritten an essa)" Heart of Darkness
and Racism, about Conrad.s Heart of Darkness, Ha*kins brings up the sub1ect of the
description and presentation of the Africans, According to him" the a*ful presentations of the
Africans are based on Conrad.s lack of kno*ledge, The Africans in the stor) do not ha+e an)
names and the) do not e+en participate in real con+ersations, Conrad.s descriptions of them
are animalistic, The) appear onl) sporadicall) in the te2t, It is rare to see an African in a
longer part of the stor), This means that *e are not introduced to the African point of +ie* of
the actions taking place, &e onl) get to take part of the <*hite? side of the stor), Conrad.s
lack of kno*ledge is understandable since he spent onl) about si2 months in Congo *ithout
ha+ing an) kno*ledge of the language spoken and he *as onl) in the compan) of *hite men
!
@Ha*kins 3FFA,
8atrick 0rantlinger has *ritten an interesting article" Imperialism,
Impressionism, and the Politics of t!le, He claims that interpretations are made based on the
reader.s *orld +ie*s and that readers *ho read the stor) as racist therefore are imperialists"
*hile those *ho read it as antiracist are anti9imperialists @0rantlinger 3!FA, 0rantlinger also
discusses the narrati+e form, He claims that one can ne+er be certain that Conrad.s o*n
+alues are being presented through -arlo*, 7ften in imperialist te2ts the +oices that often
affect the reader are *hite and male, This is the case also *ith Heart of Darkness,
Criticism of Achebe
For this part of the essa) I ha+e chosen to focus on the book Things Fall Apart
" A case#ook" edited b) Isidore 7kpe*ho" a casebook of criticism *hich focuses on the
different criticism that Achebe.s book has recei+ed, Eeil ten Gortenaar" one of the critics
included in the book" has *ritten in his essa)" Ho$ the Center Is %ade to Hold in Things Fall
Apart, about ho* Achebe presents both Africa and Curope and about ho* ob1ecti+e Achebe
reall) is *hen he describes the different cultures, Gortenaar sees a problem *ith describing or
comparing t*o cultures in the same part of the *orld and he argues that ob1ecti+it) is
important, 7ne can easil) choose one culture o+er the other and appreciate that culture more,
For the sake of ob1ecti+it) the reader is allo*ed to stand outside both cultures and +ie* the
different characteristics of them,
This is *here Achebe comes in, Gortenaar claims that Achebe cannot be
ob1ecti+e in his comparisons since he is connected to the Igbo tribe, The comparison cannot
be fair to the reader or to the tribe, Another thing" *hich Gortenaar brings up in his criticism"
is the use of African Igbo *ords, The reason *h) Gortenaar is negati+e about the use of these
*ords is because of the difficult) of comprehension among non9African readers, Another
thing regarding the comprehension is the description of the Igbo9tribe.s beliefs and rituals,
7ne e2ample is *hen the medicine man tries to get rid of the og#an&e, an e+il spirit *hich
comes back to haunt the mother after she has had a miscarriage" and *ants the sick girl to
sho* him *here she has hidden her i!i'($a, a stone *hich needs to be destro)ed in order to
get rid of the ogban1e, All these rituals and *ords reall) put the non9African or non9Igbo
reader in an uncomfortable situation" either the reader goes on reading *ithout kno*ing
e2actl) *hat the *ords mean and *h) some rituals take place" or he can find out about them
b) reading historical books, 7ne thing that *e ha+e to keep in mind is ho* difficult it is for
'
the author to present this tribe" their tradition and histor), The tribe ne+er had a culture *ere
the) spread ancient stories or cultural rituals and beliefs through *ritten te2ts" instead
e+er)thing *as passed orall) from generation to generation, This means that the) ha+e not
left an)thing for the coming generations e2cept the things the) ha+e heard and remember,
That is the problem *ith transmitting )our *hole histor) from mouth to mouth" orall)"
instead of *riting it do*n and passing it from generation to generation, Therefore" it is hard
for Achebe to translate all these oral stories into a te2t that non9Igbo readers can understand,
Gortenaar responds to *hat Abdul Jan-ohamed" another professor and critic"
sa)s about Achebe, Jan-ohamed suggests that this *a) of *riting" a form of oral
stor)telling" *as Achebe.s *riting st)le, It seems that Achebe *anted to keep the feeling of
oral stor)telling in his *riting and it ma) therefore be hard for a non9Igbo reader to
understand some situations in the book, Gortenaar follo*s in the footsteps of Jan-ohamed
sa)ing that there is no documentation of histor) since the Igbo had no *riting, Therefore
there is a problem *ith *riting about Igbo histor) @Gortenaar #35A, There is an interesting
3uote b) Jan-ohamed that Gortenaar brings up" in his essa)" about the historical accurac) in
Achebe.s *riting4 <7f course" *hat Achebe has *ritten is fiction and does not ha+e to be
faithful to the calendar in the same *a) as histor) has to be, 0ut in not being faithful to dates"
he suggests his narrati+e has come loose from histor)" as in a *a) it has? @Gortenaar #3!A,
According to Jan-ohamed" then" Achebe.s Things Fall Apart is fiction and not realit) but at
the same time he argues that such a stor) does not ha+e to be as accurate as histor) must be,
Ato Iua)son is another critic included in the casebook and he has *ritten an
essa)" Realism, Criticism and the Disg(ises of )oth, Iua)son" like Gortenaar" focuses on the
realism of the stor), He claims that there are different le+els to the stor), 7ne le+el" that is
interesting in the case of realism" is *hen Achebe describes African culture and ho* it
becomes sub+erted due to contact *ith &estern imperialism @Iua)son (3(A, To sum up" one
can sa) that a great deal of the criticism is focused on Achebe.s descriptions and the
comprehension of Achebe.s *riting, T*o parts that are important since the reader is directl)
affected b) them and the *hole stor) can seem great or a*ful because of them, The thing that
*e need to keep in mind is the importance of ha+ing the reader in focus, In Achebe.s case a
reader *ho is not an African ma) ha+e a hard time understanding the stor) and that is *h)
the description and comprehension are so crucial,
#$
Colonialism, imperialism and politics in Africa
In order to be able to present a good case for *hich author *ho gi+es us the
most realistic presentation of Africa I need to present some African histor), I *ill present
some aspects of politics" colonialism and imperialism" since these issues are central aspects in
m) t*o no+els,
The bond of #!BB" a certificate issued b) a go+ernment or a public compan)
promising to repa) borro*ed mone) at a fi2ed rate of interest at a specified time
#
" ga+e
0ritain the right to trade in the countr) of Jhana" formerl) kno*n as the Jold Coast, Trade
links and di+erse interests brought the Curopeans to Africa, In the beginning the commerce
*as friendl) but later on it *as because of these trading rights that 0ritain could gain political
control of the Jold Coast, There *ere other dominating countries such as Jerman)" ;pain"
8ortugal and France *ho had not onl) political but also ideological and economical control
o+er different countries in Africa, A prime issue for these imperial and colonial lords *as the
independence of the Jold Coast in #'5 @Assensoh (A, The independence of this countr) *as
actuall) not the problem" but ho* the remaining countries and their lands *ould be di+ided
among the ruling po*ers, Cither the) could sta) under 0ritish administration or be united
*ith the Jold Coast in their mission of independence, -an) countries such as French
Togoland and Tan6ania" *hich then consisted of Tangan)ika and Kan6ibar" chose to unite
*ith the Jold Coast and become independent, =nfortunatel)" the situation did not go so *ell
for all the countries" and one e2ample of this is Eigeria" Chinua Achebe.s home countr),
The colonial period had brought nothing but trouble to Eigeria, 0ecause of
colonialism" a political imbalance *as created in the countr), This" along *ith ri+alr)
bet*een different ethnic and religious groups" *as the reason *h) the countr).s stabilit)
demolished, 7n Jul) 5" #'F" the Eigerian ci+il *ar *as started, The reason for the ci+il *ar
*as that Colonel 7dumeg*u 71uk*u *as putting pressure on Jeneral Jo*on" *ho *as the
head of state, The issue *as that 7dumeg*u 71uk*u" *ho *as the eastern regional Jo+ernor
during that time" along *ith his officers" *ho belonged to the ethnic Igbo tribe" *anted to
declare independence for the eastern region of Eigeria, Jeneral Jo*on chose to fight against
these men instead of gi+ing in to their demands, A state of emergenc) *as declared b)
Jeneral Jo*on and the *hole nation.s militar) po*ers *ere gathered and the *ar broke out,
There *ere also problems of ethnicit) during the *ar and one thing that is interesting in
connection to this is that in Achebe.s book" Things Fall Apart, the main tribe in focus is the
Igbo tribe and that the officers of 7dumeg*u 71uk*u belonged to this Igbo tribe, The Igbo
#
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tribe fought for the independence of the eastern region" so in a *a) the) *ere rebels *ho
*anted to break free from their ruling countr) and create their o*n @Assensoh 3A,
In some parts of Things Fall Apart *e can see ho* the Igbo tribe tries to break
free from the *hite people, ;o the *ar *ent from 1ust tr)ing to capture 7dumeg*u 71uk*u
to a ci+il *ar *ith man) innocent casualties, In #'$" the leaders finall) came to their senses
and put an end to the *ar and made oral agreements, ;o *hose fault *as the *ar5 According
to Assensoh" if an) countr) should be blamed it is Jreat 0ritain, Eigeria *as di+ided into
different regions and one reason *h) it *as di+ided *as because of ethnic differences,
-uslims li+ed in north and Christians li+ed in south, This split and ri+alr) bet*een the t*o
dominant religions and ethnicities *as encouraged b) Jreat 0ritain @Assensoh BA, Therefore"
0ritain *as blamed for this ci+il *ar, %eligion had a great role in colonialism" as *e can see
here, C+en in Things Fall Apart the *hite people came and built their churches and tried to
con+ert as man) Africans as the) could, If *e look at Heart of Darkness this is not as eas) to
see since in that stor) the *hite people are alread) there" but 1udging from the te2t it seems
that the Africans probabl) did not agree *ith the *hite people.s beliefs" since the) are treated
like animals, In Things Fall Apart the Africans *ho con+erted to Christianit) *ere treated
like humans,
If *e look at colonial nati+e polic) *e can see that France had a big influence
on the other great nations of the *orld, 7ne of the main tenets in French polic) *as
assimilation, The assimilation polic) made the colonists see their colonies as e2tensions of
their o*n land, C+en though the colon) *as placed thousands of miles a*a) from the
motherland it *as still seen as a part of it" and it *as ruled b) the same la*s and regulations,
If *e connect this assimilation polic) to the t*o no+els *e can see that it has some
resemblance *ith the no+els sometimes" e+en if the Frenchmen are not part of these stories,
In Heart of Darkness it is the 0elgians *ho rule" and that is perhaps *h) the black people did
not become assimilated, In Things Fall Apart it is Jreat 0ritain that rules in Eigeria" *hich is
a historical fact" and in this case the black people had a chance of being assimilated" and
some of them took that chance" e+en though the price *as that the) had to con+ert to
Christianit), If the) did so the) *ere e2communicated from their o*n societ)" <Nthe +illage
has outla*ed us". said one of the *omen, NThe bellman announced it last night.,,,? @Achebe
($$$"##BA, During Africa.s <dark? period *hen coloni6ers came and took Africans and sold
them as sla+es" the e2isting culture came to be changed *hen sla+es *ere taken to other
countries *here the) *ere forced to make contact *ith people and adapt to the language that
*as spoken there, This contact that *as forced upon the Africans *as one reason *h) their
#(
culture *ould change fore+er" since the) had to adapt to the culture of the people *hose
sla+es the) *ere,
<%acism is the ps)cholog) of imperialism" the spirit of empire" because racism
supplies the element that makes for the righteousness of empire, Hence racism is not simpl) a
b) product of empire" but ,,, part of the intestines of empire?
(
, Cultural imperialism is one of
the reasons *h) the &est had so much po*er, To be able to reshape the *hole *orld to fit
the countr).s o*n image b) total po*er is cultural imperialism, &hen the *hite people
started to spread around the *orld" <Anglo9;a2onism? *as strengthened among the countries
in+aded, The <Anglo9;a2on? *as a common identit) for the *hite people *ho shared the
same cultural histor) and sense of racial superiorit) but most of all their <home? *as the
centre of imperialism, This spreading or diaspora of *hite people guaranteed that &estern
culture *ould spread around the *orld, It *as because of racism that *hite people could sta)
together and help each other out and instead of racism being like shackles" the *hite people
used it as a *a) of uniting *ith each other in order to become stronger, ;o imperialism and
racism ha+e al*a)s gone hand in hand through histor)" as 0arbara 0ush mentions in her book
Imperialism, Race and Resistance" and the) ha+e ne+er been separated from each other
3
, &e
can see some of this collaboration bet*een imperialism and racism in Heart of Darkness" the
great po*er of the *hite people and ho* the) constantl) unite *ith each other, Through
Conrad.s descriptions one can get the impression that it *as in fact racism that brought the
*hite people together and made them stronger,
Realism a form rather than method
%ealism *as a dominant mo+ement from around #!B$ to #!!$, The main idea
of realism *as that it should gi+e an ob1ecti+e" neutral and truthful representation of the real
*orld, This representation *ould be based on accurate obser+ations of contemporar) life, In
the beginning realism *as seen as a mirror of realit) and a st)le of *riting that *as
<st)leless?, 7ne thing that is important to kno* about the realism *riters is that the) did not
1ust *rite *hate+er the) thought of as appropriate" the) e2plored facts all o+er the *orld in
order to gi+e a correct and realistic representation of the sub1ect concerned, The difference
bet*een them and <ordinar)? authors *as that the) e2plored areas that had not been e2plored
before or at least not e2plored in detail, This is an essential part of realism" the search for the
(
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3
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#3
truth" in the case of Achebe *e can refer back to the criticism he recei+ed" in Gortenaars
essa) Ho$ the Center Is %ade to Hold in Things Fall Apart" from Abdul Jan-ohamed4
<7f course" *hat Achebe has *ritten is fiction and does not ha+e to be faithful
to the calendar in the same *a) as histor) has to be, 0ut in not being faithful to dates" he
suggests his narrati+e has come loose from histor)" as in a *a) it has? @Gortenaar #3!A, If he
had follo*ed the essentials of realism" then" he *ould not ha+e recei+ed such criticism, His
stor) must not be historicall) correct but *hen *riting about such a sensiti+e sub1ect and
blaming *hite people for destro)ing )our countr)" then it *ould be better to ha+e the facts
historicall) correct,
There are man) different characteristics to realism, 7ne of them concerns the
characters in a stor), In realism no+els the focus is on the character and not on the plot or
action, It is simpl) because the author is more important than the plot, In romances and
naturalist no+els" there are often different dramatic or remarkable elements" such as
spectacular heroes and unnatural or supernatural e+ents, %ealism has a tendenc) to a+oid
these elements, Another thing that is characteristic of realism no+els is the ob1ecti+it) of the
different presentations, This point is +er) interesting in this conte2t since the t*o main no+els
in this essa) are about descriptions, &ith ob1ecti+it) is meant that there should be less
authorial comment and more focus on ho* things reall) are instead of focusing on the
author.s thoughts, It is important that the author is ob1ecti+e and not pre1udiced about the
situation at hand, This point can be discussed in relation to both our no+els, Through the
essa) this sub1ect has been brought up man) times and the fact is that both authors seem to
ha+e a hard time being ob1ecti+e, 7f course the both authors are artists and do not ha+e to be
ob1ecti+e but in the case of m) essa) I need to focus on their ob1ecti+it), Achebe.s
descriptions are more detailed and reall) sho* us the inside of Africa" but at times he is
letting his emotions take o+er the narrati+e, The same thing goes for Conrad" although
ob+iousl) he cannot be compared to Achebe *hen it comes to descriptions since he does not
ha+e the kno*ledge about Africa and its culture that Achebe does, He also has problems *ith
being ob1ecti+e" and as I mentioned earlier one cannot kno* for sure *hen it is Conrad.s
ideals that are being presented and *hen it is -arlo*.s,
Characteri6ation is +er) important in this discussion, In both books *e ha+e t*o
+er) deep characters" 7konk*o and -arlo*" *hom *e get to e2plore, In 7konk*o.s case it
is eas) to see *hat he feels and *hat he thinks about, He is an eas) character to understand
thanks to the narration and the descriptions, In -arlo*.s case it is much harder because the
*a) Conrad has used the narrator is so confusing" and sometimes it seems as if )ou do not
#B
kno* *ho the narrator is, ;ometimes )ou ha+e no idea *ho is narrating, Another aspect
*here the characteristics of realism are important is in the case of ob1ecti+it), 7nce again I
*ant to sho* that the importance of ob1ecti+it) is indeed +er) great since the author.s
sincerit) is based on it, 7n the one hand" *e ha+e Achebe *ho *rites about his Eigerian
people and tribe, &e must think of ho* ob1ecti+e Achebe actuall) is *hen he describes the
*hite people and their intentions, The onl) *a) to kno* this is of course to go back to the
histor) of Africa and see if it reall) *as as Achebe describes it, 7n the other hand" *e ha+e
Conrad *ho surel) bases his stor) on his o*n trip to Congo" *here he spent si2 months" but
this cannot be kno* for sure, In man) different places in that book )ou can get the impression
that the narrator is racist" and in these cases it is important to kno* ho* ob1ecti+e the author
is and if it actuall) is his o*n idea that *e are sho*n through the narrator,
Paurence Perner states in his book" The Frontiers of *iterat(re, that <%ealism is
the claim that in the interaction bet*een con+ention and obser+ation that lies behind e+er)
piece of *riting" a shift ought to take place" reducing the role of con+ention" and increasing
that of obser+ation, The structuralist *ho dismisses this does so because he does not reall)
belie+e in obser+ation,? @Perner BB(A, In this 3uote b) Perner *e can see the importance of
obser+ation and ho* it should be in focus instead of focusing on the normati+e e2amples
gi+en in te2ts, The con+ention should" according to Perner" be reduced and authors should
focus on obser+ation of facts, He also states that the structuralist *rites can not follo* the
realism of literature since the) do not belie+e in obser+ation, C+en though he states so" he
belie+es that their interaction is necessar) in the case of *riting, A sub1ect that is a part of
this essa) is stereot)pes" and Perner has also commented on stereot)pes in his book, <Dthe
undermining and re1ection of stereot)pes? @Perner BB#A" he focuses on the criticism of realism
from Jeorge Cliot and %oland 0arthes, The critic against realism is that it completel) re1ects
stereot)pes,
-ar) Francis ;latter) *rites in her article" +hat is Realism,, about the
definition of realism and some of the characteristics of it, In one section she states4 <The
grace of realism is not in brash reference to bodil) functions or to garbage cans and back
alle)s" nor is it in mere inclusi+eness, It is" I repeat" in the sheer aptness of its occurrence in
an artistic form,? @;latter) 5A, &ith this she *ants to sho* us the essence of realism" stating
that realism does not onl) consist of ho* true authors are in their descriptions of different
situation" instead it is ho* the realism appears in artistic form, ;o one can sa) that the focus
is rather on form than method, In order to confirm this she states4 <%ealit) is *hat the mind
seeks *hen it *ants truth, Truth is not meaning or reference,? @;latter) F#A and *hat *e can
#5
learn from this is that the truth itself does not *ork as a reference point in e+ents that *e seek
ans*ers for,
I *ould like to end this section *ith a 3uote from &illiam Dean Ho*ells *ho
described realism in a fe* *ords but +er) *ell" <%ealism is nothing more and nothing less
than the truthful treatment of material?
B
,
Conclusion
;o far I ha+e presented the t*o authors" the criticism that the) ha+e recei+ed"
and some facts about African histor) and politics, I ha+e also gi+en a realism perspecti+e to
the research b) *riting about realism and relating it to both no+els, In the introduction of the
essa) I had some 3uestions to be ans*ered" and after m) research I can present some results,
As I mentioned in the introduction" m) main aim *ith the essa) is to compare Achebe.s and
Conrad.s no+els, Throughout I had to be ob1ecti+e and not let m) personal feelings make a
difference in the result, In the beginning I felt that Achebe *as a +er) good author *ho
described e+er)thing +er) *ell and reall) ga+e the impression that it is Africa he is *riting
about, Conrad" on the other hand" I felt" *as a racist" and that *as *h) I needed to be
ob1ecti+e and rel) on the facts, 7f course" one.s personal thoughts make a difference" but
after doing some research I reali6ed that Achebe *as not in fact as good as I thought and that
Conrad" it seemed" could not possibl) ha+e been a racist, The comparison bet*een the books
*as interesting since one book follo*s a black man and his 1ourne) through life and ho* his
land becomes in+aded b) *hite people" *hile the other book follo*s a *hite man and his
1ourne) to Africa *here he in+ades a countr) for business purposes, ;o here *e get to see
Africa through the e)es of a *hite man and a black man, 7f course" *e cannot get the same
picture of Africa since characters in the t*o books ha+e different life e2periences, For
7konk*o" it is +er) hard to face the truth that the *hite people are more po*erful in man)
*a)s and that he must submit to them, -arlo*" on the other hand" ne+er has to submit to a
greater po*er" he is a part of that greatness himself and he in+ades 7konk*o.s Africa for
business purposes,
If *e take a look at the criticism these authors ha+e recei+ed *e can get a better
+ie* of the comparison, Achebe.s criticism is of course based on anger among other things,
He does not think that a book that dehumanises people should be celebrated as a great book,
0ut it is a matter of fact that people *ere treated that *a) in Africa, Conrad.s descriptions
seem +er) hard at times but the African people did suffer a lot, The) *ere taken as sla+es and
B
http4HH***,*su,eduHQcampbelldHamlitHrealism,htm
#F
the) *orked for the *hite people e2actl) as Conrad describes it, 7f course" one can 3uestion
Conrad.s use of *ords" and he ma) ha+e had some anger inside of him to*ards the black
race, &hat makes me 3uestion Conrad.s authenticit) is ho* he describes his relation to the
black people, In one part of the book he mentions that he feels some kind of kinship to them
*hile in other parts he completel) dehumanises them and describes them as animals, This is
*h) I ha+e a hard time accepting his authenticit) because he sometimes seems to be going
against his o*n thoughts, In one part of the book he describes a *hite man that he sees and
b) the description of that man )ou instantl) kno* that it is a rich and *ealth) man he is
describing, Another thing that makes me 3uestion Conrad and his authenticit) is the
follo*ing 3uote from his o*n biographer" *hich Achebe ha+e 3uoted in his essa)"
<notoriousl) inaccurate in the rendering of his o*n stor)? @Achebe ($$F" 3BFA, If his o*n
biographer *rites this about him then I am *illing to understand *h) Achebe refuses to see
Conrad as truthful in his descriptions of Africa" e+en if Conrad spent si2 months in Congo,
0ut spending si2 months in Congo does not mean that he *as ob1ecti+e in his stor)telling,
%el)ing upon Hunt Ha*kins" I *ould like to argue that it is important that *e are introduced
to the African people.s side of the stor), &e are ne+er introduced to *hat the black person
feels or *hat he thinks of during the stor), &e get to meet some cannibals" but those men are
not rele+ant to the stor), 0) sa)ing this I am not sa)ing that Achebe gi+es us a <*hite? side
of the stor) but that he gi+es us some perspecti+es" *hich I feel are important, Achebe sho*s
us that the *hite people" *hate+er intensions the) had" also *anted to help the Africans and
not onl) use them, The) built schools to educate them and make them stronger and the) built
churches in the hopes of rescuing the Africans and gi+ing them a chance of sal+ation, The
lack of kno*ledge ma) be the reason *h) religion is a factor in different problematic
situations, It is commonl) kno*n that people that belie+e in one religion belie+e that it is
their religion that is the right one" and that is *h) conflicts can arise, The Africans belie+e
that their belief is the right one *hile the Christians *ant to sa+e the Africans from facing
death in hell b) con+erting them to Christianit), &e are also introduced to -r, 0ro*n *ho is
the man *ho makes the onl) real attempt to communicate and connect *ith the Africans,
This is to me a proof that their intentions *ere not onl) bad,
In m) discussion of colonialism and imperialism" I pointed to ho* these books
are connected, In that part of the essa) I mention ho* Jreat 0ritain supported the ri+alr)
bet*een the t*o ma1or religions and ho* that support could be connected to the books, If *e
look at Achebe.s no+el" that aspect seems to be rele+ant, As Achebe describes in his book the
*hite people came and *anted to ha+e e+er)thing according to their o*n *ill and all the
#
black people *ere e2pected to con+ert to Christianit), This created a ri+alr) bet*een the Igbo
tribe and the con+erted Christians *ho no longer *ere seen as members of the Igbo tribe, 7n
the other hand" *e ha+e Heart of Darkness *here there is almost not an) conflict at all, It
seems that the *hite people *ho ruled there *ere not so bothered b) the fact that the black
people *ere not Christians, This is suggested in the descriptions of the black people" *ho
beha+ed like sa+ages, The cannibals are another issue that I think of in this situation" if a
person is a cannibal then he cannot be a lo+ing person since he kills people in order to eat
them" and that is a not so lo+ing abilit), If the blacks had con+erted to Christianit)" one can
think that the *hite people *ould teach them ho* to be ci+ili6ed and ho* to lo+e e+er)bod)"
*hich for Christians is the message of Christianit), That is another point *hich makes me
belie+e that no real attempts *ere made to con+ert the black people, 7ne thing that is
important to keep in mind is that Congo *as ruled b) 0elgians and their *a) of dealing *ith
these situations *ere perhaps different, As I mentioned in the imperialism part" racism *as a
strong factor, In Heart of Darkness this racism is sho*n +er) clearl), The) use the black
people as sla+es and the *hite people sta)ed together and used racism as a basis to unite"
*hich I mentioned in the part about colonialism and imperialism, Achebe.s no+el also has a
connection to this theme, In his no+el it is not as ob+ious as it is in Conrad.s but the racism is
still there, The *hite people in Things Fall Apart are kind to the black people and offer them
sal+ation *hile the) think of themsel+es as better than them, The racism of the *hite people
does not ha+e to be directed to*ards the black people" it is the fact that the) belie+e that the)
are better than other human beings that sho*s the racism, ;o both books deal *ith this part in
one *a) or another,
0ased on the research I ha+e been doing about the sub1ect and the facts that I
ha+e presented in this essa) I ha+e come to the conclusion that Achebe is the one *ho has
presented Africa in the best *a) according to realism, To ans*er m) main 3uestion in this
essa)m" Achebe is the one *ho manages to present Africa in the most truthful *a), Another
thing connected to m) main 3uestion *as *hat effect their *ritings ha+e had, That is one
thing that I feel has been brought up in this essa), 7f course" as alread) mentioned" Achebe.s
descriptions ma) be difficult for non9African readers" and that is an effect of his *riting *hile
Conrad.s *riting ma) ha+e an e+en bigger effect because of ho* he discusses the racial
issues, &hat people must kno* is that his *riting ma) be based on a lack of kno*ledge" and
I am not defending his ideas, In this essa)" m) understanding for Joseph Conrad has gro*n
deeper, In the beginning I *as sceptic and I 1udged him and thought he *as a racist, Eo* I
kno* that he is an author *ith man) skills" although his lack of kno*ledge ma) be crucial for
#!
the 1udgement of his book, Chinua Achebe is a great author *ith a special 3ualit) to" his
descriptions, In this essa)" I ha+e *ritten about ho* his descriptions can be hard to
understand for non9Africans but the) are still important, I am not an African but I still
appreciate his originalit)" and I find that the reader trul) gets a glimpse of the real Africa"
*hich is hidden deep in the 1ungle,
As I ha+e mentioned the author *hom I found more realistic is Achebe, To sum
up it is because of his *a) of describing the en+ironment, The *a) he *rites makes the
reader instantl) think that one is in Africa and the reader simpl) *ant more and more, I hope
that this essa) has gi+en a better understanding of the t*o no+els" Things Fall Apart and
Heart of Darkness, and that )ou ha+e made )our o*n decision based on m) research,
#'
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(#