We have been posed one of the most frequently asked questions in the literary world: should we, or should we not read Heart of Darkness? Well, normally I wouldn’t have an opinion, because, as Miller says in his essay, “it is impossible to decide authoritatively whether or not we should read ‘Heart of Darkness’” (463). Cool. So when you read that, you realize it’s ok to be neutral, and that the world really is rainbow chip frosting and friendly pandas.
But wait! Miller says in the end that we should read Heart of Darkness! He even says that we have “an obligation to do so” (474). So, I don’t know if you just happen to be like me and hate it when people tell you what to do, but I for sure fit into that category 100%. But it’s all for naught, I change my mind in the end because----- I think Miller is onto something here. (This is my way of still making the choice to read instead of following orders.)
I think that all students of literature do have an obligation, in a way, to read Heart of Darkness. Not only is it obvious that a lot of other really smart and well educated individuals have read it and wrote about it, but there is a TON of value in reading a semi-autobiographical work. Why is this, you may ask? Because you get to learn the “firsthand” experience of someone on the cusp of the 20th century who went to a then unknown region of the expansive globe and was surrounded by inhabitants who were of mysterious origin and “uncivilized” culture and way of life, that’s why. This information is valuable not only to the people of the time it was written, but especially to us of the modern generations because we need to understand the views of the past in order to change the future.
If we had never evolved into a society that finally recognized black people as equal, who knows what the disturbed writings of Conrad would have become over time- maybe nothing. One of the huge reasons Conrad’s work is so famous is because of its controversy. If people hadn’t heard that Conrad were calling negroes savages, creatures, inhumans, shadows, cannibals, etc., then they wouldn’t have been angry or disgusted enough to make a stand and argue against him. If we hadn’t heard of his experiences of regarding the slaves as “less valuable animals,”(33) or traveled through the Congo to Kurtz’s house to find a bunch of negro heads on sticks (58), no one might have ever been enraged to the point of standing in front of a court house to fight in the defense of those oppressed by racial segregation.
It is because of this greater good that I believe we should all read Heart of Darkness. Especially if it’s on the required list of material for one of your classes.
I remember in middle school when the students would complain to the teacher during history lessons: "Why do we have to learn this stuff? It's the paaaassst!" And the teacher would say something along the lines of "Because we need to understand the views of the past in order to change the future."
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you reminded me of this because Heart of Darkness is in some way a history book. While we're sickened by it, we're learning from it and relating it to today. Why should we take that away?
I also hate being told what to do, and hate it even more when I end up doing what I've been told to do. But you're right. You can't really help it in this case because of everything it brings to the table that ends up bettering us (like Kristine said, too).
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