Conrad and Racism in Heart

Conrad and Racism in Heart of Darkness Linguistic style is the most important determinant in approximating authorial intent. As the post-modern era of criticism has imploded the importance of authorial intent, it has completely revoked the applicability of examining an author's history and lifestyle to determine literary intent. Rather, when authorial intent must be examined, only linguistic style holds worth.

In Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," racist terms like "nigger" are constantly used, but the prevailing criticism is that Conrad himself is not racist; that he simply uses the terms to evoke a certain linguistic effect. More specifically, Conrad, critics argue, only uses terms like "nigger" when referring to black characters who have already been dehumanized in some significant way.

However, a closer examination of the work's linguistics reveals that Conrad was indeed racist - his uses of the word "nigger" and other trademark signs of racism did indeed engender linguistic purpose, but also betrayed a personal belief that those of disparate races - namely, blacks - were inferior. A prime example lies in the following passage: "The hurt nigger moaned feebly somewhere near by, and then fetched a deep sigh that made me mend my pace away from there. I felt a hand introducing itself under my arm.

'My dear sir,' said the fellow, 'I don't want to be misunderstood, and especially by you, who will see Mr. Kurtz long before I can have that pleasure. I wouldn't like him to get a false idea of my disposition..." (Conrad, 42) Here, Conrad is obviously painting the man in a downtrodden light, but notice some of the words he chooses: First, the "nigger...fetched" a deep sigh.

The choice of "fetch" here is suspect: There are many other verbs that would have sufficed adequately to develop the sigh, but Conrad chooses "fetch," a word directly associated with the enslaved nature and inferior qualities of blacks - black slaves fetched: that was their duty, and Conrad here, even in the innocent act of conjuring a sigh, employs a linguistic tool - subconsciously - that indicates that he believes that the "nigger's" role is only to "fetch." Further in the sentence, the narrator "mends" his pace way from the man.

He did not "turn away" or "walk away." Rather, he "mended" his pace; the verb "mend" finds as one of its synonyms "fix," and this once again indicates Conrad's racism. If the narrator must "fix" the pace that brings him into close contact with a "nigger," then there must have been - implicitly - something wrong with that pace in the first place.

And of course there was, in Conrad's id: the pace brought him close to a black man - an inferior man - and so therefore it was lacking and in need of "mending." Finally, in this passage, the "nigger" "introduces" his hand under the narrator's arm. By using the word "introduce," Conrad implies firmly that there is a difference - in Derrida's sense of the word - between the black man and the narrator: Otherwise, he would not have to "introduce" his disparate body part.

Here again, Conrad's latent racism is apparent. The following passage also establishes Conrad's inherent racism: "I let him run on, this papier-mache' Mephistopheles, and it seemed to me that if I tried I could poke my forefinger through him, and would find nothing inside but a little loose dirt, maybe." (Conrad, 42) First, the narrator "lets" him run on, implying that the had a position of power over him: He was in a place where he could either "let" him run on or stop him from doing so.

This immediately implies superiority. Second, by using the condescending term, "Mephistopheles," Conrad contrasts the qualities of the black man with Mephistopheles'. Here again, in using caustic wit, Conrad betrays his own racism. Finally, of course, Conrad depicts the "nigger" as being empty inside in that the narrator could poke his forefinger through his very frame and find nothing but loose dirt. Here, Conrad reveals that in his mind, there is absolutely not worth to a "nigger" outside of a little dirt.

Another passage further develops Conrad's latent racism: "The fool-nigger had dropped everything, to throw the shutter open and let off that Martini-Henry. He stood before the wide opening, glaring, and I yelled at him to come back, while I straightened the sudden twist out of that steamboat." (Conrad, 76) Here, the white man - the narrator - is straightening negative situations that the "nigger" has created via his stupidity. This is further indicated by Conrad's employment of the phrase "fool-nigger" to.