Africa In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

Achebe’s novel is very different from Heart of Darkness. In Conrad’s story, we follow a white man and his journey through Africa. This book is also divided into three parts. One thing that is very interesting in this story is the narrator. The story is told through one of four people who sit and listen to Marlow, who is narrating the whole story. Sometimes this can be really confusing. Deeper into the story we follow Marlow’s journey to find Kurtz. Marlow is chosen to be the captain of a steamboat since the earlier captain had died. Marlow has a mission to take the boat down Congo River, at least this is the impression, all the way to the coastal station. At one point Marlow says: “The best way I can explain it to you is by saying that for a second or two I felt as though instead of going to the centre of a continent I were about to set off for the centre of the earth” (Conrad 13). This passage is very interesting considering Marlow’s view of Africa otherwise. Why does he see Africa as the centre of the earth? In another passage, after seeing Africans living their normal lives undisturbed by the white people, Marlow believes that he is seeing the prehistoric man, and sees himself and his crew as wanderers on a prehistoric

We as readers are privy to each character’s private thoughts and emotions, but not limited to one character’s point of view. There is also very little dialogue, which gives the impression of oral story-telling. The importance of oral story-telling is evident throughout the book, as the Igbo people honor and uphold the tradition. Although there is no dominant point of view, the narrator shifts between characters throughout. Even though we begin with Okonkwo, we also get the opportunity to see the world differently through the thoughts of Ikemefuna, Nwoye, even the District Commissioner in the last paragraph. This shifting viewpoint allows the reader to consider all sides of the