It is fair to say that late 19th century Europe is not remembered for its progressive and humanistic values. Indeed, European society at that time could probably be described as racist and sexist, with national passions for colonialism and “empire building” across the continent, a passion perhaps best expressed by the Belgian King Leopold who described the imperialist enterprise as a “crusade worthy of a century of progress”. In general, blacks were considered a savage type of subhuman, while women were generally believed to be second-class citizens, as both groups possessed few rights. Of course, literary texts of the time generally reflect this, with the "classics" of Western literature such as Rudyard Kipling's Kim, for example, essentially racist and pro-colonialist. Joseph Conrad's 1898-99 work Heart of Darkness, however, purports to question some of the dominant values ​​of his society to some extent, through its somewhat dubious anti-colonialist discourse. Despite this, however, Heart of Darkness depicts black Africans and women as being on the fringes of society. While it can be argued that this marginalization is unconscious, Conrad nevertheless displays racism and sexism to some extent and in doing so reveals some of the dominant social values ​​of his time. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Especially in recent years, there has been increasing criticism of the way Conrad represents blacks in his fiction. Much of this criticism stems from postcolonialist African novelist Chinua Achebe, who, in his famous lecture "An Image of Africa," argues that Conrad's way of representing Africans as on the margins means he should be labeled a " total racist." A key aspect of Achebe's critique is the way in which Africa and its people are marginalized as an "other world", or an antithesis to "civilized" Europe. This can be seen first of all from the fact that, according to the story, anyone who comes into contact with Africa becomes crazy. The Company Doctor, when examining Marlow, tells us that when men go to Africa "changes take place" (inside their heads) while the Company Secretary's response to Marlow's question as to whether or not he would go to Africa is "No I am as foolish as I seem, Plato told his disciples." These two statements seem to suggest to the reader that Africa, and by association its native peoples, drives ordinary people mad due to its ferocity. As such, it marginalizes Africans as barbarians and, in doing so, reveals some of the racism prevalent in Conrad's society. The dichotomy between "civilized" Europe and barbaric Africa, within the story, can also be seen through the character of Kurtz. The 'poster boy' of European society, Kurtz, at the beginning of his stay in Africa is described with enthusiasm by all, with the Brickmaker, for example, defining Kurtz "an emissary of piety, science and progress" while the Kurtz's article for the "International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs" expresses, in Marlow's words, "every altruistic feeling." This is contrasted with the Kurtz we meet who has modified his report on the “suppression of savage customs” with a postscript that reads “exterminate the brutes”. Furthermore, Kurtz is self-centered ("My destiny, My ivory, My station, My river...") and barbaric, as evidenced by the gruesome array of skulls outside his hut. From this transformation the reader can see that something has changed in Kurtz. In Achebe's words, this something isAfrica and its inhabitants, constructed as "the antithesis of Europe and therefore of civilization, a place where the vaunted intelligence and sophistication of man are finally mocked by triumphant bestiality". As such, Conrad's text once again, perhaps unconsciously, marginalizes Africa and its people as savage kryptonite for European civilization, and thus once again allows dominant social values ​​to be seen. Another way in which Africans are represented on the fringes of society is through the silence of all Africans within the novella. Throughout the book, the Africans are essentially voiceless, speaking only twice, with their native language described as "crude babbling" (although this can be explained, to some extent, by the lack of knowledge of African languages ​​at the time by Conrad). On the few occasions when Africans do speak, they essentially speak pidgin English and effectively "marginalize" themselves as such. This can be seen through the two occasions where the Africans speak as, on one occasion, the "cannibalistic ferocity" of the Africans is shown when a black African asks Marlow to capture an individual so he can "eat" him, and, in the other on the other, it proclaims "Mistah Kurtz - he is dead", reminding the reader that it was Africa that "caused" Kurtz's death due to its lack of civilization. As such, Africans can be seen to be pushed to the margins, due to their lack of voice, and are therefore marginalized as savages and incapable of speaking intelligently. Furthermore, Africans are also marginalized through the comparisons between Africans and Europeans in the story. Marlow tells us that “what excites you is the thought of their (African) humanity – like yours” and that Africans can claim a “remote kinship.” This once again marginalizes blacks by suggesting that Africans have “lesser humanity”, as such, once again a reflection of the discourses of Conrad's time. This is highlighted again when Marlow tells us that he believes Africans are "good guys...in their place", thus suggesting that Africans are fine, as long as they stay in their place, which, Marlow implies by lavishing praise on a group of people. group of Africans paddling a canoe, stands in the jungle, like "savages". As such, the novel offers us an insight into late 19th-century Western European social beliefs, constructing (consciously or unconsciously) Africans as second-class human beings. Despite this, however, it has been argued (most notably by Ngugi Wa Thiongo) that the anti-colonialist discourse of Heart of Darkness balances its "racist" representation to some extent. It could also be argued, however, that this discourse is not truly anti-colonialist at all, but instead advocates for a “better” colonialism as such. Although Marlow calls colonialists "violent thieves" and ironically describes ivory hunters as "pilgrims," ​​presumably to a sanctuary of greed, he also notes that Kurtz's report on the suppression of "savage customs" expresses "every altruistic feeling." Furthermore, Marlow also describes the red spots on the map, which represent English territory, as places where "good" work is being done, despite it being colonization just like everywhere else. This implies that there is a “good” type of colonialism, in which Africans are “civilized” without the use of force, which Conrad appreciates. Thus, while there appear to be anti-colonialist elements, these generally serve more to expose the brutality occurring in the name of colonialism to the upper-middle class readers of Blackwood Magazine (where the novella was published) than to criticize the enterprise imperialist as such. It can therefore be seen that the.