Like the title, Conrad does have a “heart of darkness.” It’s evident when talking about them he refers to them as if they aren’t people, more like nothings. With lines like “but these men, by no stretch of the imagination can be called enemies,” or referring to them as “unhappy savages.” Conrad views himself as a superior and its exemplified especially when he says “After all, I was a part of the great cause of these high and just proceedings.” I feel like he is basically saying that the black guys are just a bunch of criminals awaiting trials.
Achebe makes points like “Conrad is concerned not so much with Africa as with the deterioration of one European mind caused by solitude and sickness.” It’s evident through Conrad’s writings that it is how he thinks. Achebe also says “The real question is the dehumanization of Africa and Africans which this age-long attitude has fostered and continues to foster in the world.” This is something that Conrad does when describing the so called “savages.” He takes away their right to be considered people.
I do agree that Conrad is “bloody racist.” But I also agree with something that Achebe points out; “It was certainly not his fault that he lived his life at a time when the reputation of the black man was at a particularly low level.” Conrad did live during a time where people didn’t see people of color as equals. People form certain mindsets because our societies allow us to create certain ways of thinking.