Discussion on "An Image of Africa"

After reading Achebe’s “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness,’” I am having mixed feelings. Although Achebe uses detailed and numerous examples in his argument on the racism in Heart of Darkness, and I agree that from this small view the novel does appear to contain racist undertones, I do not agree that it should not be considered great literature. Although I really do not know what constitutes a great book, I tend to agree that novels that I have read that have been considered great, tend to be detailed and well written works that illuminate a deeper meaning, and thus should be considered great. From what I read, Heart of Darkness seems to fit this criteria by highlighting flaws in the European colonialist attitude towards Africa. I believe that it would be a disservice to remove Heart of Darkness from the lists of great books, because it is racist. Rather, the better course of action would be to continue to encourage study of the literature to show a point of view in the past, and to reinforce to students in the present and future, why racism has no place in the present day.

Blog #1 Things Fall Apart

One of the first things that I noticed when I began to read Things Fall Apart, was the role of Okonkwo as a father. In the first five chapters, the reader is given a glimpse into Okonkwo’s past and the impact that his father had on him, as well as the impact that he himself is having in the present on his children and Ikemefuna. Although it is obvious that Okonkwo has a deep love for his family, he rarely shows his true emotions for fear of being weak. As a reader, I fear that not showing emotion in order to preserve the image of strength just hurts those around you. In particular, Nwoye suffers from the wrath of his father. This brings up the fact that Okonkwo, in my opinion, tries too hard to escape his past, and this results in him hurting those around him more. Just because his father was lazy, does not mean that he has to punish Nwoye for perceived laziness. I hope that by the end of the novel, Okonkwo will look deep inside himself and realize that his desire to maintain an appearance of strength and his battle to escape the past are hurting those around in incalculable ways.