An Image of Africa

Exposition is a literary device used to provide background information, context, or explanation essential to understanding a work. Achebe uses exposition to establish the cultural and historical framework necessary to construct his critique of Heart of Darkness. He focuses on three general areas of exposition in his essay. First, he discusses the relationship between the colonial attitudes reflected in Heart of Darkness and its reception by Western audiences to critique the West’s view of Africa and its peoples. Second, he provides textual evidence from the novella, focusing on Conrad’s exposition about the setting and the people of Congo. 

Achebe does not, however, spend much time with exposition of the plot itself. This is likely due to the popularity of Heart of Darkness: Achebe assumes his audience is already familiar with its plot and characters, which is what makes the novella the perfect example for a postcolonial critique. Finally, Achebe uses exposition to shed light on Conrad’s life, demonstrating how the author’s own prejudices work into the attitudes of his characters.

Tone is a literary device that conveys the author’s attitude toward their subject. While the tone of “An Image of Africa” may not conform to the norm of scholarly essays, it is indicative of his position as both a scholar and an author, as well as a Black African former subject of British imperialism. Therefore, the anger, sarcasm, and bitterness that comes through in the tone of the essay is based on real, lived experience. While some critics have derided Achebe as reacting with passion instead of reason, his impassioned tone demonstrates his conviction toward his central thesis. He is justifiably angry at the continual dehumanization of Black people as well as the continued veneration of Heart of Darkness, a text which he argues best exemplifies this form of dehumanization.