Point Of View In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Conrad’s novella is from a white man’s point of view who travels to the Congo. As a white man, Marlow seems superior and more privileged than other races. The story starts off with Marlow and his group traveling in The Nellie, on the Thames River: “ The day was ending in a serenity of still and exquisite brilliance. The water shone pacifically; the sky, without a speck, was a benign immensity of unstained light; the very mist on the Essex marsh was like a gauzy and radiant fabric, hung from the wooded rises inland, and draping the low shores in diaphanous folds” (Conrad 18). Marlow’s description of the scenery sounds and looks very pleasant and peaceful. The Thames river can be used to symbolize him because of The “radiance” and “diaphanous

Conrad’s novella is from a white man’s point of view who travels to the Congo. On the other hand, Achebe’s story is based on an African’s point of view which he intentionally wrote to combat this negative image of Africans. While Achebe’s character’s can speak for its culture, lifestyle and traditions, Conrad’s character can only speak about what he sees and they stereotypical portrayal of Africans. According to Hunt Hawkins, “Achebe observes that Africans are barely present in Heart Of Darkness… It might be said that Conrad failed to portray Africans because he knew little of their culture, having spent less than six months in the Congo, mostly in the company of white men, and without knowledge of any African language.” Since this story is told by Marlow in the Congo, it focuses on a foreigner’s portrayal of Africans during the nineteenth century. Imagine going to a foreign place and being completely lost towards its culture and people. As Marlow reflects on what he has seen, he