Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Achebe's Things Fall Apart

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Novels such as Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Achebe's Things Fall Apart both present the reader with different points of view on colonialism in Africa, challenging an active reader to base his or her own conclusions based on the texts. Conrad presents the European perspective on colonialism while Achebe offers the native African point of view; each author provides his readers radically different views on the same issue. Likewise, the novel White Teeth also presents different perspectives on racial issues. Learning how to be an active reader definitely provides insight to every aspect of life thus allowing the reader to formulate educated conclusions and decisions. The skills required being an active reader are also required of an active citizen in the real world. Whether in literature or the real world, one point of view is never fully reliable. Because points of view radically change depending upon racial background, upbringing, and cultural influences, readers of texts as well as members of society today must be active readers and thinkers in order to make conclusions for themselves.

The first perspective presented addresses the European view of Colonialism and native Africans. We first encounter Europe’s general view of Africans early in Conrad’s novel. Before beginning a trek to Africa, Marlow visits his aunt who tells her nephew that she hopes he will help aid in “weaning those ignorant millions of their horrid ways” (Conrad 786). Even though Marlow’s aunt has never even been to Africa to see the Native Africans first hand, she has a preconceived notion that Africans are ignorant savages. This notion is dominant among Europeans and is seemingly based solely on myths and stories told by others who have never even been to ...

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...texts challenge and compel an active to draw his or her own conclusion based on these texts and personally resolve how to deal with the issue of racism still present in the real world today. Learning how to be an active reader definitely provides insight to every aspect of life thus allowing the reader to formulate educated conclusions and decisions. Without these skills, most students would only search out one perspective and forego opposing knowledge. As a result, those readers would lack the ability to make educated judgments.

Works Cited

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Portsmouth: African Writers Series, 2000. Print.

Conrad, Joseph. “Heart of Darkness.” Heart of Darkness: Norton Critical Edition. Ed. Paul B.

Armstrong. Fourth ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 2006. Print.

Smith, Zadie. White Teeth. New York: Vintage International, 2000. Print.

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