Which author is associated with post-colonial criticism in relation to Heart of Darkness?

• A. Achebe
• B. Tolstoy
• C. Shakespeare
• D. Dickens

Answer: (A)

Post-colonial criticism looks at how stories represent colonized peoples and questions whose perspective drives the narrative and what imperial power is normalizing. In Heart of Darkness, this lens highlights how Africa and its people are framed through a European narrator’s gaze, with the land and its inhabitants often depicted in dehumanizing or exotic terms that serve imperial aims. Chinua Achebe is the scholar most closely associated with this critique; in his influential essay An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness, he argues that Conrad’s portrayal perpetuates racist stereotypes by centering Europe and presenting Africans as background to European conquest. This connection to Achebe is why he’s the author linked to post-colonial criticism of this work. The other writers mentioned aren’t the primary voices connected to this particular analysis.