Period 1:
Review Vocabulary
Work on issue research and presentations
Period 2:
Review Vocabulary
Work on memoir project
Discuss book
Period 6:
Essay Conferences
Review Vocabulary
Read Achebe's views on Conrad. Do you agree with Professor Webb's position? With Achebe? What is your take on this?
Publish your proofread thoughts to the blog.
Thought for the day...
Abraham Joshua Heschel - "Wonder rather than doubt is the root of all knowledge."
16 comments:
I agree with Professor Webb that Conrad is racist to the blacks in the book. Even though the culture brought he up that blacks are inferior. you would think that he wouldn't be that racist because he works with them all the time.
I'm not sure about Achebe's view that Conrad is gay. I really didn't get that from the character so I don't agree or disagree with him.
I agree with Achebe. I thought Heart of Darkness had a lot of racism in it. It may have been associated with the time of the book but on the island that Marlow went to they have the blacks chained. They used them as slaves. No living creature deserves this let along another human being. They may have had a different way of living from the white people but that did not mean that they were not civilized. In their own way they were and should have just been left alone. The white people seem lazy and Conrad writes about the black people as if they are animals, not people. I think Conrad thought they were animals. It may have been the vocabulary at the time to call them "niggers" but a name is different from actually being used as a slave. Like the saying goes, "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."
Heart of Darkness was written during a racial error in our history. Although Conrad's writing was difficult to understand, I disagree with the allegations that the book was discriminating. During the time Conrad wrote it, people viewed African Americans differently than they do now. I do agree with Professor Webb's statement that it was a difficult time to be African American, but I don't believe that Conrad was trying to be prejudice towards any race.
I also don't care for Achebe's reference to Conrad's sexual orientation because it is unnecessary information. He seems to have attacked Conrad's book for all the wrong reasons. He does make a valid point because the books meaning is unclear. I don't feel as though I learned anything from the book, so I agree with that statement. These two reviews are criticizing Conrad's Heart of Darkness for two different reasons, so I don't understand where they were going with their statements.
yeah I agree with professor webb that the book had a lot of racism. it is horrible that they used th blacks as slaves and didnt even treat them as human beings. regardless of the time period some of the things he wrote were rediculous and rude especially since he made the white people look better even though they were lazy.
I agree with Professor Webb, Conrad is a racist cracker. Throughout his book which is hard to follow at first is filled with demeaning thoughts and opinions towards the natives which are black.
Professor Webb talked about how Conrad's personal attitudes were "talented and tormented." Which could have to do with his sexual orientation. You could or could not be able to get that out of his character from reading his book. Conrad shows racism through the word use that he chose in some places. Depending on the language of the time, could be the way the word "nigger" could have been taken. Many people could take it the wrong way, but people from that time period could find nothing wrong with that word. People these days still say that word but it is how we are brought up which shows how our feelings are towards that word.
As i read Professor Webb's point of view of the Heart of Darkness and the author Conrad, I agreed with it. I think that the book is very racist. They talk about this treatment of black people and how they are abused. It can be disturbing and some chapters are gross.
I agree that racism is incorporated into Heart of Darkness. During the time of the story, white people found racism towards black people much more acceptable, however bad it was. Achebe is right that there is racism in Heart of Darkness, but Conrad may have been trying to match the ideas of the past, there fore he may not be racist. And, if Conrad is gay, then why would he want to be racist towards others? How could he put down someone different from himself if he is different?
I disagree with Achebe's opinion on Conrad's writing. Conrad talked a lot about the racism and the cruelties that the blacks went through and i do not believe that makes him racist. For Achebe to say that it was done because he struggled with his sexual orientation was very low. Conrad developed a story that he thought would be a success and I do not believe he wrote it to be a racial discriminating book. Achebe on the other hand is entitled to his opinion but it does not make him any better to lower himself to say that it was because of Conrad's sexuality. In all i did not find Conrad's Heart Of Darkness defensive or racist. He told the story how his mind thought it should be and things that he talked about actually happened and he cannot be wrong for writing about it.
I believe that Conrad's writing was not made to be demeaning and racist to natives. He was just simply writing a story that went along with the time era that he was writing in. Racist people were more prominent in the period of time that he was writing in. I don't believe that him writing about things that actually happened makes him a racist jerk. I think that Achebe is being defensive for no reason and to target Conrad because of his struggle with his sexuality is as morally wrong to me as if Conrad's writings were written to make natives feel like he scum of the earth. Although i know what it is like to have a strong opinion on something Achebe made himself look like a jerk for just saying this.
I think it is important to consider the world's and the experiences that both these writers came from. We are shaped by our experiences and there are definite clues to indicate that Achebe felt strongly about imperialism and the imperialists - as well as the literature they would write. This argument is important because we are faced with two sides of an issue, both by the "invaded" and the "invader."
Conrad's descriptions of the natives are often incomplete and frequently superficial, but this may in part be to his access to the culture and his desire to understand it. Marlow does not go to the Congo to understand the people there or even the region, but to fill in his "map" more completely. I believe an argument could be made that he is more interested in the geography than the society. His description and detail that is included talks deeply about the location, and how the people "fit" into the culture.
The incident of seeing the "chained" prisoners reflects equally on both the imperialist society introducing their rules and government as it does on those that enforced them. The man guarding the prisoners is not white. Is this realistic? Why would it make Achebe uncomfortable? Why would Conrad make that point?
Please remember that it is important to be careful in the words we choose to include in our descriptions and postings because our word choice reflects back on who we are. If we use derogatory terms, it opens the doorway to continued racial and ethnic strife. As educated people, we need to be cognizant of this and our ability to shape the world we want to live in.
I agree with you Mrs. Tyler. But I do also think that he was quite racist in his book. Achebe was probably horrified over the fact that there was a black guard watching over the chained slaves. It shows that the man had no feeling for his own people he just wanted to be safe. An every man for himself outlook. I don't believe in that. I think if you have the chance to help others you should. If it came down to it I'd even suffer with them if it was needed.
And you're right, there shouldn't be any inappropriate language or words used. It shows disrespect and a degrading way of talking.
I agree and understand Mrs. Tyler's point of view. You have to look at two different point of views on one subject. Your point of view depends on how you feel about the subject.
Marlow wants to go to the Congo to complete his "map" not to learn about the people or religion there. His dream was to travel and fill in those spots in which he wanted to vist. Now that i think about it it makes sense that that it was geography instead of society that he seemed interested in.
I agree with you that Marlow didn't go to the Congo to meet people. He was there to see new sights and to put a check on his map, not to place judgment on the people he saw. It seemed more like he was shocked with what he saw, so he described it. Not like he was trying to be racist in any way.
I agree. Bot sides are different and they have different opinions. Marlow wasn't sent to study the people, but he was sent to pay attention to his surroundings so he wasn't interested in the people as much.jrejj
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