Racism in Heart of DarknessJoseph Conrad develops themes of personal power, individual responsibility, and social justice in his book Heart of Darkness. His book contains all the trappings of the conventional adventure story: mystery, exotic setting, escape, suspense, and unexpected attack. Chinua Achebe concluded, “Conrad, on the other hand, is undoubtedly one of the greatest stylists of modern fiction and a good storyteller to boot” (Achebe 252). Yet despite Conrad's excellent storytelling, he was also considered a racist by some of his critics. Achebe, Singh and Sarvan, although their criticisms differ, are just some of the names to mention. Normally, readers are good at spotting racism in a book. Achebe acknowledges Conrad's disguised remarks about racism, saying, “…Conrad chose his topic well – one that was guaranteed not to put him in conflict with psychological predisposition…” (Achebe, 253). *** CAN YOU TELL US SPECIFICALLY WHAT THIS MEANS? THE READER DOES NOT KNOW WHAT THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PRE-DISPOSITION IS *** Having gone back and reread Heart of Darkness, this time reading between the lines, I discovered a certain racism that Conrad felt towards the natives that I had not discovered the first time around. I had read the book. book. Racism is portrayed in Conrad's book, but it must be recognized that in the 19th century society conformed to it. Conrad would probably have been criticized as a soft-hearted man rather than a racist in his day. Conrad constantly referred to the natives in his book as black savages, negroes, brutes and "them", showing ignorance towards African history and racism towards African people. Conrad wrote, “Black figures strolled listlessly…the beaten negro groaned somewhere” (Conrad 28). “They passed me six inches, without a glance, with the complete and deadly indifference of unhappy savages” (Conrad 19). Achebe also noted Conrad's frequent use of unorthodox insults: "Certainly Conrad had a problem with niggers. His excessive love of that very word should interest psychoanalysts" (Achebe 258). Conrad uses Marlow, the main character of the book, as a narrator so that he himself can enter the story and tell it through his own philosophical mind. Conrad used "doublespeak" throughout his book. Upon arriving at the first station, Marlow commented on what he observed. "They were dying slowly - it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly anymore, nothing but black shadows of disease and hunger lying confused in the greenish darkness" (Conrad 20).