That Conrad is a racist?
As Firchow explains, we should believe Conrad's novel as racist, should he meet the criteria for medium racism, as outlined in Frank Reeves delineation (Firchow 238).
Medium racism is identical to weak racism, a belief that races do exist and that they help to account for social phenomena, except that it adds the belief that some races are superior and others are inferior.
This definition is what we should run with. Firchow then contends that Conrad, at best "weakly racist with respect to its attitude toward Africans," solely because it does not suggest an "essential superiority to them (the Africans)." (Firchow 238)
However, that does not contain an ounce of truth.
To show this, I will remind the class of last period. During the debate, a question was asked in response to my objection about the necessity for a black foil against the savages-- "What did you want? A black man that was completely white, with clothes and civilized culture and the whole deal?"
No, Conrad doesn't even have to give us that (in doing so he would be an overt racist, instead of a blatant and blunt one). By being 'white and civilized,' the savage would have reliquished any pride in what he was, therefore exemplifying that Conrad has given defeat to the savages, in subservience to the white race. The 'white' savage's presence, at best, would then contend that the white man has succeeded in converting a savage, from an inferior race to a superior one.
In order to have not been racist however, Conrad just needed to have shown some good in the savage lifestyle. As Achebe shows, and we hope to have shown in the debate, he did not. Conrad failed to describe them as anything but animalistic, savage, and dark.
What lives in the dark? The imagery of the landscape goes hand-in-hand with the description given. An animal lives in the dark. Ever since man discovered light, or the 'right' way, of light, he has never looked back.
Throughout the debate, the other side contended that it was just the backdrop of the piece, as being unknown. Well, caves have not festered human beings for many years.
Is it that hard to show savages, like those in Africa, as being humane? I contend not. If he wanted to, he could have romanticized the savage way of life, as has been done socially in such instances as the Native American lifestyle, as has been done in novels such as Peter Matthiessen's novel At Play in the Fields of the Lord, as has been done in films such as Braveheart.
Feed us a bone Conrad. For a social activist, you did a crappy job. Baldershanks on you.
Alexander
P.S. I didn't particularly care for either Achebe or Firchow. I would have liked it better had we had to examine it ourselves…
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I want to agree with you, Alex, I do, and what you say makes good sense; but alas, I don't agree, and thus will go to a late night effort at countering a few of the points made. Admittedly, I'm unfair on one or two of my points, expecting our blogs to assume nothing and explain everything - if you look a few entries below, I hardly hold myself to the same criteria. On with it!
1. You write, "Firchow then contends that Conrad, at best 'weakly racist with respect to its attitude toward Africans,' solely because it does not suggest an 'essential superiority to them (the Africans).' (Firchow 238)
Lacking here is the equation of Conrad's views to the views of Marlow - notice, even, that the subjects don't match in the quotation. You take Firchow's use of "its attitude" to mean Conrad's attitude and so structure the sentence around that - however, looking at that page 238, "its" represents the novel, Heart of Darkness - not Joseph Conrad, in which case, of course, the pronoun would have been "his." We could say, yes, that an author's work necessarily represents his beliefs, views, etc. But in another class we saw how Plato did not necessarily believe the views expounded by his protagonist, Socrates. I think this is a similar case.
2. You asked for a foil to the consistently portrayed "savage" native, and besides the wonder Marlow expresses toward the bejeweled dark mistress, I've none to show. However, might we instead examine a parallel character to the "savage" natives? It would, I think, serve the same function - if a European in the novel is portrayed as "savage," if you will, as an African, we can I think conclude that the novel is somewhat balanced, not so very racist, if at all. Enter Mr. Kurtz, surely the most deranged character in the novel - a very loyal-blooded European, too.
3. You write Conrad "just needed to show some good in the savage lifestyle," then say the backdrop of darkness and mystery necessarily reflects on the Africans and by doing so portrays them as dark and mysterious - in a bad way. However, you surely can't deny the natives of Conrad's Congo lived in the jungle, and that the jungle is somewhat dark, and somewhat mysterious. Further, peoples who live in a dark and mysterious jungle usually aren't, by comparison, as enlightened as those who live in a lit and known concrete jungle. That's unavoidable. The natives of the Congo in Conrad's time, and surely even now, were and probably still are not as intellectually, morally, and politically (to name only three) advanced or civilized as we are. Describing them as they are - uncivilized, savage, living in a dark and mysterious jungle - is not racism; it's a photograph. Sure, perhaps its a bit condescending to intrude and offer them a different, advertised as "better" way of life - but I expect the dwellers in Plato's Cave, that dark, mysterious recess of dancing shadows, felt a bit patronized, too, when they were told of a "better" life in the light. But hey, to see the "forms," to live in Platonic heaven, as it was described by the philosophy department candidate today, seems worth a bit of condescension. Shame on us if, in the name of acceptance for all, we think a people not able to be happier in a more intellectually, morally, and politically developed world. Holding that belief would seem to be more racist than thinking them benefits by a few books and electrical outlets.
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