A Critical Discourse Analysis of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1899): Hallidayan Functional Grammar Model

Abstract

The establishment of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1899) in the canon of English literature called the attention of many literary critics who did their best to enrich the reader's understanding of the work from different perspectives. Consequently, the accumulated material on this novella is so extensive that it reflects different standpoints. The most evident stance, which stems from the nature of the story concerning Africa and its indigenous people, is established on racial and ethnic issues. Chinua Achebe’s 1977 unique critical essay An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness redefined the whole debate over the work with respect to these very issues. The present dissertation tries to answer Achebe’s allegations that were made in the aforementioned essay. We argue that approaching the novella from a linguistic perspective should reveal more about the sensitive questions raised by Achebe. Thus, we opt for a critical discourse analysis of seven chosen excerpts. This analysis is based on Hallidayan Systemic Functional Grammar. It categorises the transitivity patterns found in the excerpts. Then, it critically discusses the findings. The latter, can be summarised as follows; as regards imperialism, the work can be considered as an anti-imperialist one. Concerning the language used to describe the scenes and the natives, it manifests a kind of bias that it could not be without due to the cultural gap that was widened by the coloniser. Marlow’s vivid account of his journey reflects the cultural shock he experienced in the African jungles.