An Image of Africa

The essay "An Image of Africa" gave me both a new perspective on the book Heart of Darkness as well as Thongs Fall Apart. At first, Achebe's writing gave me insight into Conrad's writing. I realized that there is inherent racism in the book because it uses a representation of the entirety of Africa as an untamable wilderness where "normal" (white) men go to lose their minds. There is also more direct racism in the description of the African people as being like dogs and implications that they do not have individual consciousnesses. The essay, however, was not simply an exploration of Conrad's work, it also exposed motives behind Achebe's writing. Based on his tone and the fact that he wrote "An Image of Africa" it is rather obvious that he is upset by the disregard Europeans felt, and perhaps still feel, towards Africa during the time of colonization.