Read the excerpt from "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness
Conrad was born in 1857, the very year in which the
first Anglican missionaries were arriving among my
own people in Nigeria. It was certainly not his fault that
he lived his life at a time when the reputation of the
black man was at a particularly low level. But even
after due allowances have been made for all the
influences of contemporary prejudice on his
sensibility, there remains still in Conrad's attitude a
residue of antipathy to black people which his peculiar
psychology alone can explain.
The author's most likely reason for writing this
passage is
O to inform readers about Conrad's background.
O to describe how Anglican missionaries arrived in
Africa
O to entertain readers with stories of historical Africa.
Oto persuade readers that Conrad acted like
everyone else.