Prejudice in Joseph Conrad’s Post-Colonial Novel Heart of Darkness

The paper analyses the underlying racism present in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Although Heart of Darkness has been considered one of the greatest works of art ever since it was first published, one aspect of the novel has been a constant source of criticism and debate among scholars and readers: racism. Whether this novel is racist is a question of utmost importance because this question puts the greatness of the novel in doubt. The purpose of this study is to answer this very question of racism through the analysis of the author’s point of view, characterization, visual description, use of symbols and language used in the novel with regards to racism. Through the analysis it has been concluded that through Conrad’s method of narration, style and literary skill, Conrad expertly masks racist viewpoints and hides the fact that at its core, Heart of Darkness is in fact a racist novel.