Tuesday, 19 April 2016

WHY AFRICA IS DEPICTED IN THE NEGATIVE IN JOSEPH CONRAD’S HEART OF DARKNESS

WHY AFRICA IS DEPICTED IN THE NEGATIVE IN JOSEPH CONRAD’S HEART OF DARKNESS

The depiction of Africa in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness has aroused various perspectives within the academic community. Numerous scholars have advanced various reasons that assume why Africa is depicted negatively in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Some scholars have attributed Conrad’s depiction of Africa to the context in which the text was written. While some academics have ascribed Conrad’s pernicious portrayal of Africa in Heart of Darkness to have been influenced by the time he spent in Africa. It must be noted from the onset that representation serves two main functions that is to express attitudes and to influence perspectives.

It is imperative to note that representation is an act that expresses a particular individual’s or society’s attitude towards a certain subject matter, as noted by Allimandi (2002) who asserts that, “…when media portrays people in a particular way it is to reflect the political, racial, class, gender, ethnic, national, economic and religious bias of the one representing…”.Thus it is important to note that Conrad also belonged to a society that had its biases and beliefs. As a member of the British society of his generation Conrad was to some extent influenced by the ideas and perceptions of his society. The racist discourse in the text Heart of Darkness was a common feature in the literature that was written during Conrad’s lifetime as noted by Watts (2002) who posits that, “there was wide acceptance of racist language and categories in the late Victorian period thus Conrad employed the stereotypic language common in his day”. Thus the language employed in the text Heart of Darkness is an instance were Conrad was influenced by the climate of prejudice of his time.
The era when Heart of Darkness was written was an important time for science particularly for scientists who specialised in evolution theories such as Herbert Spencer (1820-1903). Shaffer (1993) postulates that “immensely popular, available and in inexpensive, Spencer's works were at the height of their influence during the years in which Conrad's early fiction was taking shape”. Even a close look at some terms used by Conrad in Heart of Darkness show Spencerian terms and concepts as noted in the following comparison between an extract from Spencer’s Social Statics and that from Conrad’s Heart of Darkness

                        Evidently, therefore, the conquest of one people over another has been, in the main, the conquest of the social man over the anti-social man; or, strictly speaking, of the more adapted over the less adapted. Herbert Spencer, Social Statics         

                       The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look at it too much. Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

Upon close analysis one can note that Conrad’s fiction represents and challenges Spencerian ideas. Thus the depiction of Africa in Heart of Darkness can be said to be an instance when an artist was imaginatively representing the ideas of an influential scientist during his era. One can also assert that the depiction of Africa in Heart of Darkness was an instance of intertextuality whereby two texts were engaged in an ideological dialogue in this case the two texts were Spencer’s Social Statics and Conrad’ s Heart of Darkness.
Said (1993) defines culture as “practices such as the arts of description, communication and representation that have a relative autonomy from the economic, social and political realms and often exist in aesthetic form...”. A novel can be noted as a cultural component that advances and defends the norms and beliefs of a particular society or set of people. Representation is an imperative factor that constitutes a novel’s structure and diction. Allimandi (2002) posits that representation of Africans as savages was used during the period of colonial conquest and rule to justify European colonisation of Africa. Thus Conrad’s Heart of Darkness can in a way be said to be a text that belongs to the group of texts that sought to promote the colonisation of Africa and the advancement of European culture. More so Said (1993) asserts that, “the power to narrate or to block other narratives from forming and emerging is very important to culture and imperialism and constitutes one of the main connections between them”. Conrad’s Heart of Darkness acts as a form of ‘propagandistic’ literature that was meant to influence the way ordinary Europeans viewed Africans.
Stape (2003) posits that the writing of the text heart of darkness was also influenced by Conrad’s own experiences in Africa. This view is supported by other renowned academics such as Firchow (2000) who asserts that,”… Conrad's actual experience of Africa, while it might have seemed interminable to him given all he saw there, lasted only about six months, in the second half of 1890. Clearly, Conrad brought baggage from his Western frame of reference to his "envisioning" of Africa, which led to his committing a series of "misconceptions and misrepresentations of Africa and Africans". In light of the above assertions it is of utmost importance to note that Conrad’s experiences in Africa were not so conducive thus his views on Africa may have been influenced by his bad experiences in Africa as noted by Batchelor (1992) who posits that, “…the experiences in the Congo were so shattering that Conrad's health never fully recovered. At the end of February 1891 he was hospitalized suffering from gout, neuralgic pains, malaria, and psychological prostration”.
Conclusively one can assert that the reasons for the negative portrayal of Africa in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness are varied. The time period in which the text was written can in a way be said to have influenced the discourse of the text. Conrad’s experiences in Africa also may have influenced his negative view of Africa.
Reference List

Allimandi, M (2002)Hearts of Darkness :How White Writers Created  The Racist Image
                             Of Africa, New York: Black Stars Books

Conrad, J (1902) Hearts of Darkness, London: J.M Dent & Sons Ltd

Firchow, P (2000) Envisioning Africa In Heart of Darkness, London: Longman

Said, E (1978) Orientalism, New York: Penguin

Said, E 1993) Culture & Imperialism, New York: Vintage Books

  Shaffer, W (1993) Rebarbarizing Civilization: Conrad's African Fiction and
                                             Spencerian Sociology, Sydney: Atlantic Co

Shaffer, W (2004) Racism and Imperialism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness,Sydney:
                               Atlantic Co


Spencer, H (1893) Social Statistics, Oxford: Oxford University Press


 Stape, H (2003) Text and Context in Heart of Darkness, New York: Penguin




Saturday, 27 February 2016

THE TIES THAT BIND - PHILLIP CHIDAVAENZI

        THE TIES THAT BIND - PHILLIP CHIDAVAENZI




Chidavaenzi' s novel The Ties That Bind is a novel predicated on the notion of hope.  Hope is a central theme that is the overall element that constitutes his narrative. The book explores the devastating  consequences of simple mistakes that can have a permanent dent on one's life such as the effect of a one night stands. The character Lincoln an aspiring lawyer in what seems to be a happy engagement shatters his entire future by engaging in a  sexual encounter with a HIV positive prostitute. That one encounter changes his life and sends him on a spiral downfall to an abyss of lost dreams and hopelessness. Lincoln a hopeful young lawyer seems to be destined for self destruction as he drags himself into further despair by drinking, sexual immorality and violence.


Chiedza an HIV positive woman also bedeviled by the virus in a prison of her own mind. HIV constantly acts as a barrier between her and happiness. Despite her interests in Lincoln the virus in her blood stream acts as a constant reminder of her curse. Lincoln and Chiedza by coming clean to each other about their HIV statuses are able to hold hands and build a future from the remains of their hopes that HIV had destroyed. The birth of their HIV negative child is a remainder to them of the possibilities that lie ahead in a world were stigma ravages the mind and robs them of hope. 


The revelation towards the end of the novel whereby one discovers that it was Jackie's sister that infected Lincoln with the virus serves to prove that the world is a web. That the solution to defeat the virus begins with  everyone, not just people in a certain class in society.