LITR 5734: Colonial & Postcolonial Literature

Sample Student Midterm 2005

Betsy Barnes

September 28, 2005

Different Authors, Different Times, Different Approaches--Different Stories

When I first looked at the fall schedule, I was hesitant to take this course. I was not sure what it included as far as the reading list goes. My first assumption was that the course involved American Literature. Not knowing what the course entailed, I decided to be brave and register for the course. When the syllabus was passed out that first Tuesday evening, I was surprised. Seeing Conrad as the first text on the list was encouraging, but then I started reading further. Some of the titles on the list were unfamiliar to me, and my initial hesitation to take the course came back to me. Then, as I started realizing what this class was going to be about, I began to relax a bit.  Once the class was fully explained, my first thought was “interesting”; however, I still felt a bit intimidated. This intimidation faded away little by little each time we met for class. What was growing to replace my intimidation was my interest in the topic.

The main thing that piqued my interest, and my got thought process moving, was the way in which our first two novels, Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart, were written. I had never before been so aware of how differently two equally amazing stories could be written.  Both books are set in Africa, but the similarities end there. The authors differ so much; including their purpose of writing these stories. Consequently, each story is so different, that they seem to oppose one another. Because of this opposition, some readers tend to pick one book over the other. It is true that there are major issues that are viewed very differently in each novel; yet, because each novel was written for a different purpose, I do not believe that a reader needs to pick “sides”. I am not saying that the reader must like both novels. But, the reader should base this decision on the approach by the author to the story.

Let me try to explain this. One major issue that is depicted differently in each novel is how the Africans are portrayed. This includes the African’s culture and the African’s speech. These different depictions can be contributed in who the author is, and why they are writing their novel. The two very opposite approaches that Conrad and Achebe display can partially be contributed to the fact that one novel, Heart of Darkness, was written in colonial times, while the other novel, Things Fall Apart, was written in Post-Colonial times. The reader can disagree with how one author portrays the Africans; but again, the reader must realize the approach that the author has to his story.

            For example, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is a plot heavy novel. There are very few deep characters, but the plot runs deep. He is writing the novel from one major point of view; that of Marlow. Marlow is an adventurer and a sailor through and through. While his friends will settle on the mainland, his heart is not content if forced to stay in one part of the world for an extended amount of time. This is from whom our story comes. True, it is written by Conrad, but he is writing most of it through Marlow’s point of view. Thus, the story must stay true to whom Marlow is. When Marlow is forced to deal directly with the Africans, the reader sees them through Marlow’s eyes. This is how Conrad approaches this novel.

Marlow did not go to Africa to understand the people of Africa. His trip was purely for the sake of an adventure. Marlow had

“just returned to London after a lot of Indian Ocean, Pacific, China seas—a regular dose of the East—six years or so, and I was loafing about… It was very fine for a time, but after a bit I did get tired of resting. Then I began to look for a ship.”

Marlow did not say that he was very interested in the native peoples, and therefore began to look for a ship in order to study them. He was simply tired of resting. So, when Marlow is in contact with the Africans, he takes no time to understand who they are. When he retells the story, he sees no point in speaking in depth about the people.

When he does mention the African people, it is done so very quickly. Only a few times does he dwell on them for long periods of time. When he mentions their drums beating, it is only that he hears them, and then guesses at the meaning. He says, “Whether it meant war, peace, or prayer we could not tell” (61). Never does he try to understand what the actual meaning is. It is not important to the story; therefore, it is not important to Marlow. 

The same applies with the African’s voice. When Marlow does quote someone, it is in short choppy sentences and would be incoherent if not for Marlow’s narrative. But, usually the Africans only yell or howl, or remain silent, like the man who worked on the boiler. While he has no voice, He is given quite a description from Marlow. But, this description is not in terms of an equal. Marlow describes him as being animal like, and says that he knows not to let the boiler run out of water because “the evil spirit inside the boiler would get angry through the greatness of his thirst” (63). This description is not flattering, but again, the African is not the heart of Marlow’s story.

One time that the African is given a voice by Marlow, is when the cannibal says,

“’Catch ‘him,’ … with a bloodshot widening of his eyes and a flash of sharp teeth—‘catch ‘im. Give ‘im to us.’ ‘To you, eh?’ I asked; ‘what would you do with them?’ ‘Eat ‘im!’ he said…” (70).

Then, Marlow goes a bit into how he had not realized that these cannibals had shown great restraint in not eating him and his crew. They had been living off of rotten meat, and yet had not even threatened him. This is one of Marlow’s longer narratives on the African people; and when he is the closest to trying to understand the people.

            Instead of Heart of Darkness being a novel about the people, it is about Marlow’s journey. Conrad has the amazing ability to tell intriguing stories. The plot movement in the novel keeps the reader going, even though there are few characters.

In contrast to Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, we have Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. He has a completely different approach to his story. Things Fall Apart is more character thick, while Heart of Darkness is plot thick. Achebe goes straight to the African people. He approaches this story these people—their lives, culture, speech, etc. It is less about what they do, and more about who they are. Therefore, there are several points of view instead of just one main point of view as we see in Heart of Darkness. Consequently there are many deeply developed characters while the plot is less developed. 

Achebe’s thorough description of the natives is the opposite of what we see in Heart of Darkness. He goes to great lengths to show the intelligence of the people. They are not just mindless animals, like the man who operates the boiler in Heart of Darkness. They are very successful in growing their crops, and most of the villagers are well off. They have a complex system of tribal rituals, and honor is valued quite highly.

Their language is always much more developed by Achebe then by Conrad. They pride themselves on speaking in proverbs, which makes for beautiful dialogue. The drums of the village become a part of their language. While Conrad’s Marlow cannot understand what the drums mean, the villagers in Things Fall Apart are well aware of what each beat represents. Achebe gives the Africans the voice that is missing in Heart of Darkness.

Once again, we see how different these two authors are. Achebe has the gift of characters, and displays it in Things Fall Apart. He gives the characters such personality and dialogue that the readers get attached to the characters, which makes up for the lack of plot. Things Fall Apart is equally as enthralling as Heart of Darkness, but for different reasons.

            In this course, we have been able to read these two novels and make them ‘talk’ to each other. Each has points that we can use to spring into the other novel. These points are not because they are similar, but because they are so opposite. The two authors are from different times, and different cultures. When writing about one another’s culture, they differ greatly. This is probably because they belong to only one culture.

            Derek Walcott is able to write from the perspective of two cultures. He is from the world of the colonizers, and the world of the colonized.  This can be a positive thing in that he has the ability to do what Conrad and Achebe cannot: write from two different world views. But, this also causes internal conflict. His poetry depicts this conflict that he feels. April Davis describes Walcott’s struggle nicely in her 2003 midterm.

Derek Walcott, who grew up on the colonized island of St. Lucia, chronicles the often conflicted nature of his hybrid identity through his poetry. In his poem “A Far Cry from Africa” he is torn between his African roots and the New World, which has opened his mind (Ollikkala 1). He writes, “ I who am poisoned with the blood of both, Where shall I turn, divided to the vein?” (Walcott 18). “ Betray them both, or give back what they give?” Much of Walcott’s poetry reflects a sense of being torn in two directions and sometimes suggests an air of longing.

 He is angered by what the colonizers did, but he realizes that part of him also comes from those people. If he hates them, does he hate himself?

            Intertextuality has played a major role in this course. By reading Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart, along with Walcott’s poetry, we can see differences on many levels. There is the most obvious difference, which is the point of views. Conrad is colonizer, Achebe is the colonized, and Walcott is somewhere in the middle. The points that each text brings out in the other texts, such as the treatment of the natives, give us the ability to easily move from one text to the next. Another level that can be seen is how each text is approached and written. Conrad writes from a mostly narrative point of view, concentrating mostly on one character and his journey. This does not leave much room for other characters and their points of view. Achebe’s writing is more character driven. He wants to show us who the African people were. Walcott writes from the point of view of those who are struggling with being torn between two cultures. His pieces investigate whether or not a person can equally claim both cultures.

            Even though the authors are each very different, each author can be evenly enjoyed. Because Conrad leaves out the development of the African peoples, does not mean that they reader cannot enjoy Marlow’s incredible journey through the Congo. Similarly, even though Achebe’s plot is stagnate at times, his characters makes up for this. Walcott’s struggle caused by being stuck between two worlds is astoundingly written. He allows those of us, who are not torn as he is, to have a glimpse into what he feels. All three authors make up a deep channel in which we can learn and experience.