Heart of Darkness projects the image of Africa as "the
other world," the antithesis of Europe and therefore of
civilization, a place where man's vaunted intelligence and
refinement are finally mocked by triumphant bestiality.
The book opens on the River Thames, tranquil, resting,
peacefully "at the decline of day after ages of good service
done to the race that peopled its banks." But the actual
story will take place on the River Congo, the very
antithesis of the Thames. The River Congo is quite
decidedly not a River Emeritus. It has rendered no
service and enjoys no old-age pension. We are told that
"Going up that river was like travelling back to the
earliest beginning of the world."
-"An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's
Heart of Darkness,"
Chinua Achebe
What type of evidence does Achebe use to stinn h
claim in this passage?
O direct quotations
O anecdotal evidence
O historical evidence
geographical evidence