Things Fall Apart is a book authored by Chinua Achebe whereas The Heart of Darkness is a novel written by Joseph Conrad. Chinua Achebe’s book is about the story of a man who was doing his best to prevent the white men from taking over his clan and traditions. On the other hand, Joseph Conrad’s book is about a white man’s trip to the Congo River or his journey to Africa. Even though the two books seem very different from each other, they are so parallel to each other from the setting, the characterization, the themes, and the narrative technique.
Things Fall Apart and the Heart of Darkness have an African setting. The setting of Conrad’s book is in the Congo Rivers whereby the protagonist, Marlow travels through Africa. We are taken into Marlow’s journey through Africa and his encounter with the black people. On the other hand, Chinua Achebe’s book takes place in an African village on River Niger. The African setting in Things Fall Apart gives the readers a glimpse of what life is live in traditional villages in Africa. We are presented with Okonkwo, his wives, father, and children and the role he played in guarding the African tradition and cultures he loves about his African origin. Most of the things in this novel are done in an African traditional way, even though in the last parts of the book there are clashes of cultures after the missionaries’ arrival.
Apart from the African setting, the natives or rather the people in the two novels were very similar, meaning the characterization is alike. In both Things Fall Apart and the Heart of Darkness, the white people came into their African land and disrupted their traditions and cultures. The arrival of the white people in the African villages brought a clash of their cultures. In fact, the whites viewed the natives who were Africans as inferior people (Achebe 102). Initially, the natives were living peacefully in their land, but the arrival of the whites in both novels brings mayhem and confusion in the society. In Things Fall Apart, the natives were forced to follow the white people’s laws and to embrace the Christian religion. They were compelled to abandon the traditions they were used to and follow the white man’s culture and the laws introduced in the land. On the other hand, in the Heart of Darkness, the natives were hired as slaves and forced to work for the whites (Conrad 66). In addition, they were treated in a barbaric was and this is evident when Conrad writes that the natives were treated like animals and not humans (Conrad 77). Both novels present stories of Africans who lived peacefully, but when the white people came in, they brought complete disorder and pandemonium in the villages.
The two books relate to the happenings of the 19th century. They depict the life before the Europeans invasion in Africa. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe presents the life of Okonkwo and the villagers before the arrival of the Europeans. Comparably, the same is addressed in Conrad’s the Heart of Darkness through Marlow’s travels in the jungles of Africa. Besides, the books present two characters who are similar in many ways, Okonkwo and Kurtz. Both Kurtz and Okonkwo start well in the books, but their endings are tragic. In the book Things Fall Apart, the protagonist is portrayed as a man with a high status in the society but had his flaws such as unquenchable ambition, vehemence, and greediness. Okonkwo had insatiable ambitions despite holding a prominent position in the village and his fear of failure led to his tragic end. Comparably, in the Heart of Darkness, just like Okonkwo, Kurtz started off as a man of status and just like Okonkwo, he had his flaws too, which included insatiable ambitions, and greediness. Conrad writes, “He would have been a splendid leader” (55). Nonetheless, his ravenous ambitions and arrogance led to his demise. Therefore, both novels present similar characters who started well in the society and ended up tragically because of their flaws.
Even though the two books are similar in the setting and in addressing similar issues or rather topics, they are still different for their purposes. The book Things Fall Apart tries to express or rather show the value of the African culture and the African people. The novel shows how important the African culture was before the arrival of the white men. In contrast, in the Heart of Darkness, Conrad does his best to ridicule and depict African as not worthy people. The Africans in the story are portrayed as weak and inferior because they are seen suffering from lack of food as they work as slaves to the Europeans. Conrad’s book has many racial remarks contrary to Chinua Achebe’s book, which hardly uses racists’ remarks but tries to depict Africans and their culture valuable. Nonetheless, the setting, characterization, and the themes of the books are similar in several ways.
In conclusion, the Heart of Darkness by Conrad and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe are among the most famous novels written in the 20th century. The books are similar in the setting, characterization, themes, and addressing related issues. Chinua Achebe and Joseph Conrad presents two incredible and among the best novels of the 20th century.
Works Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Portsmouth: African Writers Series, 2000. Print.
Conrad, Joseph. “Heart of Darkness.” Heart of Darkness: an Authoritative Text, Backgrounds, and Contexts, Criticism. 4th edition. Ed. Paul B. Armstrong. New York: W.W Norton & Company, 2006. 3-77. Print.
