Question

Read the excerpt from "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.”

Conrad was born in 1857, the very year in which the first Anglican missionaries were arriving among my own people in Nigeria. It was certainly not his fault that he lived his life at a time when the reputation of the black man was at a particularly low level. But even after due allowances have been made for all the influences of contemporary prejudice on his sensibility, there remains still in Conrad's attitude a residue of antipathy to black people which his peculiar psychology alone can explain.

The author’s most likely reason for writing this passage is

to inform readers about Conrad’s background.
to describe how Anglican missionaries arrived in Africa.
to entertain readers with stories of historical Africa.
to persuade readers that Conrad acted like everyone else.

Answer 1

to inform readers about Conrad’s background.

The excerpt gives Conrad’s birth year and the historical context of his time, then assesses how those circumstances affected (but did not fully explain) his attitude toward Black people.