Conrad's Heart of Darkness is not a racist work Since the publication of Heart of Darkness in 1899, the text has attracted both praise and criticism. While some have argued that it is a work ahead of its time in its criticism of European colonialist practices, others have criticized the text in its depiction of native Africans. Achebe, Singh, and Sarvan are just a few to name a few, and while their criticisms differ, they have labeled many aspects of Conrad's work as racist. Conrad was certainly ahead of his time, as his work critiqued the colonial practices of Europeans both by making readers aware of the problems and by pushing readers to empathize with the natives. The work therefore cannot be seen as racist, however it is a 'text of its time' (Conrad expresses a dominant view through Marlow) in social classification, with the black natives essentially as 'the others', seen through the representation of the natives Africans. The racial construction of the natives in Heart of Darkness is one that the dominant society would have conformed to. Conrad consistently referred to the natives in his book as black savages, negroes, brutes, and "them", perhaps showing ignorance towards African history and racism towards African people. Conrad wrote, “ Black figures strolled listlessly… the beaten negro groaned somewhere” (Conrad 28). “They passed me six inches, without a glance, with the complete and deadly indifference of unhappy savages” (Conrad 19). The language expressed was common in the context of its publication, and may reflect society's ignorance towards native Africans, with Marlow also, being constructed as a product of his society, therefore its views and opinions... .at the center of paper......the character of Marlow who is a product of his time. While Achebe, among many others, may be right that Conrad portrays the natives as “the other,” it is the manifestation of Conrad and the society of the time that leads to this portrayal. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua [An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness.] Heart of Darkness. By Joseph Conrad 3rd ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton Critical 1988.Conrad, Joseph Heart of Darkness 3rd ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton Critical, 1988. Sarvan, C. P. [Racism and the Heart of Darkness.] Heart of Darkness. By Joseph Conrad 3rd ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton Critical 1988. Singh, Frances B. [The colonialist prejudice of Heart of Darkness.] Heart of Darkness. By Joseph Conrad 3rd ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton Critical 1988.