Comparing Shakespeares Othello with Conrads Heart of...

Comparing Shakespeare’s Othello with Conrad’s Heart of Darkness It is often that when we read great works of literature we come across similar themes. Authors use powerful ideas that they believe will move their readers and relate to them so they become engaged in the words written. William Shakespeare and Joseph Conrad were amazing writers of their times and even though their works were written almost 300 years apart, both, Othello and Heart of Darkness, have coinciding themes. The major theme that both Shakespeare and Conrad tackled was racism and the concept of whites versus blacks. The play Othello tells the story of a black general by the name of Othello and the betrayal, lies, and deception that comes about when marrying a†¦show more content†¦He uses derogatory and offensive remarks that devalue people of color and make them out to be savages. Chinua Achebe, a well-known writer, talked about Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness, entitled An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrads Heart of Darkness. Throughout his essay, Achebe notes how Conrad set Africa up as a foil to Europe,(Achebe) while he also projects the image of Africa as â€Å"the other world†. Africa is said to be a â€Å"prehistoric† world. Conrad described this land as non-advanced and inferior to the western countries. Another theme that was portrayed by both Othello and Heart of Darkness was that of good versus evil. What was ironic about this theme was that it was somewhat opposite and strange for the time period they were both written in. In both works it seemed as if blacks were seen as the good and innocent while the whites were seen on the evil side. African heritage is usually portrayed in a negative light and it was not the case in these pieces. Othello was looked as somewhat of a black hero and Iago was considered the white nemesis. Iago’s deceitful ways brings light to Othello’s true character, a great general and man. Conrad shows the Africans as innocent victims to the white man’s’ chaos. The white men, even though they are shown more powerful, are the ones seen in the dark. Racism and good versus evil come down to the idea of the white man versus the black man. These ideas have been in and out of