Heart of Darkness prompt #9

The question of whether a controversial book has a place in the canon is difficult, if not impossible to answer. Certainly books carry the mark of the ideology of their own time, yet one hopes that the great works provided in literature classes are to some degree universal, holding true even hundreds of years later. While parts of Heart of Darkness may certainly achieve this lasting effect, one hopes the racism inherent in its treatment of imperialism will not.

By itself, the more unpleasant aspects of Heart of Darkness do not warrant its removal from the canon. Many excellent books have problematic elements--would we avoid Kurt Vonnegut for his blandly rendered, objectified, and stereotypical women and skip Ezra Pound for his antisemitism when these unsavory elements are products of the time? While individual people may choose to, it’s clear that we as a society have agreed they are still worthwhile to read.

That is not to say, however, that those books, or Heart of Darkness, are so intrinsically valuable as to excuse their problems. It must be acknowledged that all elements of western society, literature included, have for thousands of years been dominated by white men. Were this not the case, it’s perfectly possible that Heart of Darkness never would have found its way onto lists of classic novels. The unoppressed by nature find it easier to excuse oppression--a white person will be less offended by racism than a black one, regardless of their level of sympathy for the struggle of those less privileged.

The problem with this book being taught is not its racism alone--when taught well, that can be acknowledged, discussed, dealt with in a reasonable way. The problem is that it is mostly white men who have decided it is worthy of being taught, when they’re not the ones affected by its problematic elements. The problem is that it’s the sixth book we have read in AP Literature this year written by a white male author. The problem is that even though equally excellent books which do not share its racism exist, they are not taught because they don’t hold the same place in the literary canon. The world of literature is vast. For every good book with problematic elements, there are equal books on similar subjects and without those elements--one only needs to look a little closer at the library shelves. That we have chosen to read Heart of Darkness instead of The Poisonwood Bible is a commentary on the unjustifiably dominant place white male voices still hold in the world of literature and on the ease with which privileged people such as ourselves swallow oppressive ideas as long as they don’t affect us.