Genetic engineering Essay Example for Free

Genetic engineering Essay Genetically modified foods (GM foods) have made for big talk in the public lately. Public interest groups have been actively protesting against GM foods for months. In response to the up swelling of public concern, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have held meetings to solicit public opinions and, begin the process of establishing a new regulatory procedure for government approval of GM foods. I would like to research and maybe, explain the reasons why I feel that GM foods are not humanitys solution to our food consumption problem. What are Genetically Modified Foods? Genetically modified foods are foods produced from organisms that have had specific changes introduced into their DNA using the methods of genetic engineering. These techniques have allowed for the introduction of new crop traits as well as a far greater control over a foods genetic structure than previously afforded by methods such as selective breeding and mutation breeding (Wikapedia. com). To date most genetic modification of foods have primarily focused on cash crops in high demand by farmers such as soybean, corn, canola, and cotton seed oil. These have been engineered for resistance to pathogens and herbicides and better nutrient profiles. GM livestock have also been experimentally developed, although as of November 2013 none are currently on the market. There are many reasons to not be a fan of GM foods but, before I explain the reasons not to consume GM foods, let me tell you some reasons why scientists and so-called, â€Å"experts†, are pushing to have developers and, manufacturers of GM foods make sure, that they are various advantages of consuming these foods, as well as, persuade the public to purchase these products. Are there advantages to GM Foods? One advantage to GM foods is that they help to control certain diseases that can cause people to have an allergic reaction to certain foods. With GM foods the DNA system is modified to eliminate the properties causing these allergies (http://www. buzzle. com/articles/genetically-modified-foods-pros-and-cons. html). Another advantage to GM foods is that they are said to be high in nutrients and contain more vitamins than traditionally grown food. They also claim to have a longer shelf life than traditionally grown food, which means less waste. Now that we have heard why developers, manufacturers, and scientists want GM foods massively produced, lets hear about some of the reasons why most of the population is not so accepting. Threats The biggest threat caused by genetically modified foods is that they can have harmful effects on the body (http://www. csa. com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview. php). It is believed that consumption of these foods can cause the development of diseases which are immune to antibiotics. According to experts, people who consume these foods have high chances of developing cancer (http://www. csa. com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview. php). Because these are new inventions on food, theres not much known about the long-term effects that genetically modified foods will have on humans. Foodstuffs made of genetically modified crops that are currently available (mainly maize, soybean, and oilseed rape) have been judged safe to eat, and the methods used to test them have been deemed appropriate. These conclusions represent the consensus of the scientific evidence surveyed by the International Council for Science (ICSU) and are consistent with the views of the World Health Organization (WHO). However, the lack of evidence of negative effects does not mean that new genetically modified foods are without risk. The possibility of long-term effects from genetically modified plants cannot be excluded and must be examined on a case-by-case basis. New techniques are being developed to address concerns, such as the possibility of the unintended transfer of antibiotic-resistance genes. Earlier, I mentioned an advantage to GM foods that allows them to be modified to eliminate properties within certain foods, so that people do not have an allergic reaction to them. My question is, â€Å"what in the world makes these developers think that we want to eat anything that has been modified†? Not to mention, knowing that the long-term effects are not certain if I consume one of these products. Thats not comfortably sitting on my stomach! Response These developers and, manufacturers claim that GM foods contain more vitamins and nutrients, along with a longer shelf life than traditional foods. The way the public sees it is the genetically modified anything, cannot be better for you than the real thing. Throughout my research, I have found that most of societys response to GM foods is, â€Å"why fix something thats not broken†? Most of society throws criticisms towards genetically modified foods, criticizing agribusinesses for pursuing profit without concern for potential hazards, and the government for failing to exercise adequate regulatory oversight (http://www. csa. com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview. php). Concerns The most concerns about genetically modified foods falls into three categories: environmental hazards, human health risks, and economic concern. Environmental hazards are causes of unintended harm to other organisms. For example; the pollen blown around by the wind off of a GM plant, stands a chance of becoming involved with the milkweed plants that often grow near these crop fields. The concern is for the monarch butterfly, monarch butterflies eat milkweed plants and, if the butterflies eat the milkweed plant with the pollen from the GM plant on it, the butterflies then stand a chance of dying if they come in contact with this pollen. This could create a huge problem for the monarch butterflies extinction rate. Human health risks contain allergencity, which are allergies to things like peanuts and other foods. The possibility still remains that introducing a gene into a plant may create a new allergen that will cause someone to have an allergic reaction and, they could possibly die from that. Economic concern is the most talked about category out of all three. Things like, putting farmers out of business and bringing this product to the market is a costly process, as well as the tech companies wishing to turn a profit on their investment. Consumer advocates are worried that patenting new plants will raise the price of seed. When the prices of seed goes up, the farmers in third world countries cannot afford to purchase the seeds each year. No seeds means no crops for the farmers, no crops means no money. Conclusion Consumers may wish to select conventional foods on the basis of several criteria such as methods of production (e. g. organic or fair-trade food), religious principles (e. g. kosher food), or the presence of known allergens (e. g. groundnuts). Labeling of foods as genetically modified or non-genetically modified may enable consumer choice as to the process by which the food is produced. However, it conveys no information as to the content of the foods, and what risks or benefits may be associated with particular foods. More informative food labeling, explaining how food has been transformed and what the resulting changes in food composition are, could enable consumers to assess these risks and benefits (http://www. greenfacts. org). Genetically modified foods is a big deal in todays society, many people have a very strong opinion about GM foods. Many people are also unaware of what a genetically modified food is. Most people consume genetically modified foods on a daily bases and do not even realize it. Nor is the government obligated to inform you that you are consuming genetically modified foods. Throughout my research, I have found out why I feel that GM foods are not humanitys solution to our food consumption problem. Throughout my argument, I have tried to explain the good and, the bad things associated with genetically modified foods. I have come to the conclusion that genetically modified foods are not for me or my family. There are too many health issues and, risks that I am not willing to take because my familys health may lay in the balance. References Kartha, D. , Cheap Non-GMO Food Supply (2012) Retrieved from: http://www. buzzle. com/articles/genetically-modified-foods-pros-and-cons. html. Whitman, D. Genetically Modified Foods Harmful or Helpful? (2000) Retrieved from: http://www. csa. com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview. php. Bottemiller, H. , Vilsack Calls for a Truce in GE Crops Fight. (2010) Retrived from: http://www. foodsafetynews. com/2010. Published under the authority of the GreenFacts Scientific Board at; (http://www. greenfacts. org). Definition of Genetically Modified Foods, (2000). Wikapedia. com.

Romeo and Juliet movie comparison Essay Example for Free

Romeo and Juliet movie comparison Essay The timeless tale of Romeo and Juliet has been told again and again; the similarities and differences between the films are endless. Two movies were made based on the classic love story, Romeo and Juliet. The first movie was made in 1968 and the second was a much more modern remake of the classic tale which was made in 1996. These movies told the romance in similar, but still in different ways. Both movies can be easily compared and differentiated because they were both alike and different at different times. Although both movies told the same story the time period was set in unlike eras, but they still had their resemblances. The older 1968 version was set in the time period when William Shakespeare actually wrote the play. The newer 1996 version was set in the modern era of the 90’s. Although the newer version was set in the 90’s the same dialogue that Shakespeare wrote was still used in the new film. In the older film the dialogue matched the time era the movie was set, unlike the newer version. Scenes like the balcony scene showed various differences and similarities. The modern version suggested a more modern time set due to the pool, elevator, and security cameras the guards were watching; in the older version the balcony scene was on an actual balcony, Juliet’s and Romeo’s clothes suggested a more renaissance time set. The balcony scene led to the same events that happened later on, and also showed Romeo and Juliet’s intense and outrageous love fo r each other. The time period is a big difference between the movies, but another scene that showed similarities and differences was the time where Romeo and Juliet spent their last moments together, the death scene. Within the death scene there are countless similarities and differences that can be revealed. In the modern version Juliet wakes up and witnesses Romeo die. In the older version Romeo drinks the poison and dies then Juliet wakes up. Both scenes show Romeo and Juliet’s love for each other and what they are willing to do to be together forever. The monument Juliet was in had her dead ancestors inside it as well as Juliet. In the new movie there are no dead bodies to be found. This scene has it’s differences but the major similarity that appears is Romeo and Juliet’s intense and extreme lengths they would go to for their love. The classic tale of Romeo and Juliet forbidden love has been told several times since it’s been written. The two movies that were made based on the story presented numerous similarities and differences. The time period revealed differences, although the dialogue revealed a similarity. Scenes such as the balcony scene and the death scene showed differences and similarities based on the time period, structure of the scenes, and order of events. Romeo and Juliet is a tragic and timeless tale that revealed numerous similarities and differences through the movies that were created.

Techniques for Extraction of Impacted Lower Third Molars

Techniques for Extraction of Impacted Lower Third Molars Abstract Objectives: Many series of side effects will be produced with the extraction of impacted lower third molar which including pain, swelling, inflammation, and trismus. Flap design is important to allow good visibility, reach to the impacted tooth, and for healing of the surgically created defect. This study aims at the evaluation and comparison of standard flap design with comma type of flap design used in the surgical extraction of impacted mandibular third molar and to objectively evaluate the merits and demerits of individual flap design. Study Design: In this study 200 patient with bilateral mandibular third molars impaction of age group of 18-30yrs were selected for the study, To reflect the mucoperiosteal flap On one side standard incision and on other side comma incision were used and , after which the steps are common in the removal of impacted third molars. Immediately on the post –operative days 1, 3 and 7 the post– operative parameters (pain, swelling and mouth opening were recorded. And periodontal status were recorded pre operatively, 1st month and 2nd month respectively. Results Conclusion: The pain and swelling scores were found to be significantly lower in the surgical area with comma incisions which was recorded on days 1, 3 and 7 as compared to the the area where standard incisions were made. In mouth opening There was a sufficiently great difference seen between the two incisions on 1 post-operative day, but though there was clinical difference between the two incisions on day 3 and 7 there was no statistical significance. The results of the study shows no lingual nerve paresthesia or any other morbidity, hence the new incision design should probably be made the conventional method, considering the less degree of post operative complications encountered. although it may require some practice initially. Key words: Standard Incision, Comma Incision, Mandibular Impaction, disimpaction,Visual Analog Scale Clinical Implications:-third molar impactions are common and usually associated with postoperative complications like pain, swelling, trismus and pocket formation. Incision and flap design is important in healing wound and minimizing post-operative complications. Comma incision design has shown less post-operative complication in compare to standard incision Introduction: Impaction is defined as cessation of the eruption of a tooth caused by a clinically or radio graphically detectable physical barrier in the eruption path or by ectopic position of the tooth. at least one impacted third molar will be present in 33% of the population which requires surgical removal of impacted third molar hence disimpaction is the one of the most frequently performed procedure.1 Lower third molars constitute a major bulk of teeth that are impacted in the oral cavity2. Many series of side effects will produced with the extraction of impacted lower third molar which including pain, swelling, inflammation, and trismus 3. Flap design is important to allow good visibility, reach to the impacted tooth, and for healing of the surgically created defect. Many different incisions have been used to raise the flap, like Wards Incision, modified ward’s incision, envelope, ‘S’ shaped incision [Bould Henry] etc4. Ward’s and modified ward’s incision are more commonly used and it was observed that Wards and modified Wards incision provide excellent visual and mechanical access and can be closed by means of a suture inserted between the buccal and lingual soft tissues alone5 , However when a releasing incision is made a small buccal artery is sometimes encountered and this may be mildly bothersome during the early portion of surgery, and also the suture is usually placed on a bone defect and not on healthy bone this may cause additionally pain, delayed healing are also seen.6 Nageshwar has tried a new type of incision- comma shaped incision and has compared it with the modified wards technique (Figure 1). However the number of cases in his study were very less [n=15], hence this study was undertaken to compare this new comma shaped incision with wards incision using more objective and subjective parameters with a larger sample size. Material and Methods: 200 patients between the age group of 18-30yrs, having completely impacted bilateral mandibular third molars or partially erupted third molar, with good oral hygiene, without any symptoms of pain or swelling were included for the study. Patient on any medication, pregnancy, severe Pericoronitis, soft tissue impaction, medically compromised, Missing mandibular second molars was the exclusion criteria for the study and were excluded from the study. The instruments used to compare two flap designs were Williams probe to measure pocket depth. Visual analog scale of 0 to 10 was used to estimate pain by subjectively asking the patient to rate the nocioceptive experience7. Swelling was assessed by measuring by the distance between the: Tragus notch and a reproducible soft tissue pogonion a long the skin surface. Tragus notch to angle of mouth Tragus notch to ala base Tragus notch to outer surface on lateral wall of eye Angle of mandible to outer surface of lateral wall of eye The percentage difference between the postoperative and preoperative measurements was calculated. Mouth opening was evaluated by measuring the maximum inter incisal distance. After obtaining ethical clearance from the hospital ethical committee, written consent was obtained from all the patients who satisfied the inclusion criteria. Preoperative radiographs were taken to assess the position, depth and angulation of the third molars and to exclude any local pathosis such as a cyst, tumor etc. pain, swelling, mouth opening and pocket depth were recorded Preoperatively . One side of impacted mandibular molar is surgically removed under local anesthesia Using standard flap (figure 2). pain, swelling and mouth opening were measured Postoperative on day 1, 3 and 7 respectively. The extraction on the opposite side was done with the alternate flap design-Comma incision (figure 3). The follow up and postoperative complications of patients on day 1, 3 and 7 were recorded for the parameters studied. After flap reflection standard procedural steps were followed. Flap was sutured with 30 Braided silk sutures. Post operative instructions were given and patients with a standard antibiotic regimen of Cap. Amoxicillin 500mg TDS* 5days Tab. Ibuprofen 400mg TDS* 5 days Tab. Metronidazole 400mg TDS* 5 days Bilateral The pocket depth is recorded after month. Data management and Analysis The post-operative complications for each subject for both incisions were recorded and all data was entered in Microsoft Excel. Data was analyzed using computer software, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 10. Data are expressed in its frequency and percentage as well as mean and standard deviation. To elucidate the associations and comparisons between different parameters, Chi square (à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ £2) test was used as nonparametric test. Student’s t test was used to compare mean values between two groups. For all statistical evaluations, a two-tailed probability of value, Results: Out of 200 extractions done using ward’s incision 107 were non erupted and 93 were partially erupted, Out of 200 extractions done using comma incision 111 were non erupted and 89 were partially erupted, {table 1} In extractions done with standard incision 26.67%of subjects had severe pain on day 1 where as only 13.33% of subjects had severe pain on the exaction side done by comma incision. There is a high statistically significant difference between the two type of incision on day 1 in comparing the pain. (Chi -Square=15.627, P=0.0062) similarly the pain was severe for 6.67% of the patients extracted with ward’s incision and there was no pain on other side where comma incision was used on the 7th post operative day (Chi -Square=28.799, P=0.000) {Table 2} In extractions done with standard incision 46.47%of subjects had severe swelling on day 1 whereas only 33.33% of subjects had severe swelling on the exaction side done by comma incision. But the difference seen was statistically significant difference between the two type of incision on day 1 in comparing the swelling, (Chi -Square=2.4762, P=0.2889). the swelling was sever for 20% of the patient extracted with ward’s incision and there were no patient with sever swelling on comma incision side, (Chi -Square=8.6872, P=0.0365). on 7th day there were no patient with severe swelling in both the groups but 40%of the patients experienced moderate pain in ward’s incision group where as only 13.33% had moderate swelling in comma croup. There is a statistically significant difference between the two groups on day 7 (Chi -Square=18.879, P=0.0158).{Table 3} The mouth opening on day 1 in ward’s incision side is between 29-25mm where 33.33% where as only 13.33% of the patients in comma group. There was highly statistical significant difference between the inter incisal measurements to check for mouth opening on day 1 (Chi -Square=24.658, P=0.000). but though there was clinical difference between the two incisions on day 3 and 7 there was no statistical significance.{Table 4 } There is significant statistical difference between wards and comma incision in relation to pocket depth recorded after first month and the second month in first month is (t=2.684, P=0.025), and in second month is (t=4.937, P=0.000). and even when ward’s and comma incision are compared separately over time there was statistical significance between the pocket depth in first and the second month was seen, I’e (wards incision t=5.176, P=0.000) and (comma incision t=6.812, P=0.000) in second month. {Table 5} Discussion: Third molar surgery has been associated with a variety of complications, flap design is one important factor influencing the severity of these complications . The incisions used in surgical treatments of impacted 3rd molars can be grouped in to envelop and triangular varients.all incisions irrespective of there variations, were extended from the distal aspect of second molar towards ramus. These standerd incisions have been modified by many surgeons.the incision modified by Groves and Moore started distal to the distobuccal line angle of the second molar to conserve the periodonsium8. Berwick designed a lingually based flap using an incision line that was tongue shaped and did not lie over the bony defect.9. Comma shaped incision was designed by Nageshwar to limit the post operative pain and swelling. Post operative pain of moderate to severe intensity is usually noticed after third molar surgery, the pain usually begins as the effect of local anesthesia fades off. The peak intensity of pain is noticed after about 6 hours. The pain then disappears slowly within a few days if it heals normally.10 In our study, pain was assessed by using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) as it takes little time to describe to the patient and it is easily understood by the patient. The results showed less pain scores on comma incision side as compared to ward’s incision side which is similar to that of the study of Nageshwar. (This may be because small mucoperiosteal flap was elevated during comma incision, the drainage in comma incision is good and this is single flap hence it will give a tight closure on occlusal surface distal to second molar.) This result is not in correlation with the results of Gool et al as they have seen that severity in pain is not related to the type of incision.11 trauma and infection are the main cause for postoperative swelling. The truma to the tissues associated with oral surgical procedures is the usual cause of early postoperative swelling. It is most marked after 19-24 hrs and then diminishes after about seven days.12 Swelling in cases with comma incision was comparatively lees than cases with standard incision was done. This study results compliments the study by Nageshwar.1 but the method of measuring swelling was not satisfactory in that study because the swelling is three dimensional hence it is measured by marking on 6 different points on the face as described earlier. Salata L.A et al and Szmyd et al reported that restricted mouth opening peaks on the day of surgery. This study is in agreement to this statement too13. The comma incision encountered less number of subjects with limited mouth opening when compared with the standard incision side which is in agreement with the study of Nageshwar’s result The inter relation between trismus and pain have been reported in many studies. It might therefore be expected that mouth opening after the removal of impacted mandibular third molars is painful and consequently reduced to its full extent. The hypothesis has been confirmed by an electromyographic study which proved that restricted mouth opening is a voluntary action to avoid pain.14 There was a statistical difference in the postoperative probing depth between the two types of incision after the first and second months. These results are contradictory with many studies, by Rosa et al, Quee et al and Schofield et al which show no differences in pocket depth related to flap designs15. But A.A. Krausz, E.E.Machtei,M.Peled suggest that increased second molar pocket may be related to osteotomy16. However others believe that the flap design and the patients age might have an effect on second molar periodontal status. When removal of impacted molars was done during developmental stage of the tooth faster regrowth of the alveolar bone crest . However as all our subjects were in the age group of 18 -30 we feel that age was not a major factor and the difference in pocket depth is related to the type of flap. Conclusion: The results of the study shows that none of the patients in the study developed lingual nerve paresthesia or any other morbidity, hence the new incision design should probably be made the conventional method, considering the less degree of post-operative complications encountered. although it may require some practice initially. Further research with newer flap designs like the comma design, which will minimize the post operative complications, should be considered in the extraction of impacted third molar surgery.

Joseph Stalin Essay -- Joseph Stalin bio Biography Essays

â€Å"The man who turned the Soviet Union from a backward country into a world superpower at unimaginable human cost (Joseph Stalin).† â€Å"Stalin was born into a dysfunctional family in a poor village in Georgia (Joseph Stalin).† Permanently scarred from a childhood bout with smallpox and having a mildly deformed arm, Stalin always felt unfairly treated by life, and thus developed a strong, romanticized desire for greatness and respect, combined with a shrewd streak of calculating cold-heartedness towards those who had maligned him. â€Å"He always felt a sense of inferiority before educated intellectuals, and particularly distrusted them (Joseph Stalin).† Sent by his mother to the seminary in Tiflis (now Tbilisi), the capital of Georgia, to study to become a priest, the young Stalin never completed his education, and was instead soon completely drawn into the city's active revolutionary circles. â€Å"Never a fiery intellectual polemicist or orator like Lenin or Trotsky, Stalin specialized in the humdrum nuts and bolts of revolutionary activity. Risking arrest every day by helping organize workers, distributing illegal literature, and robbing trains to support the cause, while Lenin and his bookish friends lived safely abroad and wrote clever articles about the plight of the Russian working class (Lenin & Stalin).† â€Å" Although Lenin found Stalin's boorishness offensive at times, he valued his loyalty, and appointed him after the Revolution to various low-priority leadership positions in the new Soviet government(Lenin & Stalin).† In 1922, Stalin was appointed to another such post, as General Secretary of the Communist Party's Central Committee. â€Å"Stalin understood that "cadres are everything": if you control the personnel, you control the organization. He shrewdly used his new position to consolidate power in exactly this way--by controlling all appointments, setting agendas, and moving around Party staff in such a way that eventually everyone who counted for anything owed their position to him(Stalin Biography).† By the time the Party's intellectual core realized what had happened, it was too late--Stalin had his people in place. While Lenin, the only person with the moral authority to challenge him, was on his deathbed and incapable of speech after a series of strokes, and besides, Stalin even controlled who had access to the leader. The General Secretary of the ... .... â€Å"This ambitious plan brought hardship and met resistance as he purged the kulaks (wealthy peasant farmers) (Stalin: The Man and His Era).† This was followed in 1932 by the second, equally ambitious Five-Year Plan. In 1936, Stalin developed a new Soviet constitution, which was seen as a democratic document. â€Å"However, the following elections were marred by purge trials from 1934 to 1938 in which Stalin systematically eliminated his opposition(Stalin: The Man and His Era).† Stalin further hurt his international image when he signed a nonaggression pact with Adolf Hitler in 1939. The Nazi leader soon broke this agreement and invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. â€Å"In Allied negotiations after the war, Stalin succeeded in obtaining control of half of Europe, and the following year the Iron Curtain descended over the Soviet Union and its "satellites" in Eastern Europe as Stalin consolidated his gains (Joseph Stalin).† This began the cold war, which continued throughout Stalin's rule. He died in Moscow in 1953 and was entombed in Red Square alongside Lenin. â€Å"However, his character was later attacked by Nikita Khrushchev and his body removed from the Lenin mausoleum (Stalin Biography)†.

Work Related stress Essays -- essays research papers

Fifty percent of workers have suffered some form of stress at work in a 12-month period. The statistics in healthcare professions were even higher. Stress in the workplace is becoming a major concern for employers, managers and government agencies, meaning the Occupational Health and Safety legislations are requiring employers to practice a ‘duty of care’ by providing employees with safe working environments which also cover the psychological well-being of their staff. One of the costs, for employers, of work place stress is absenteeism. Other negative effects are reductions in productivity, reduced profits, accidents, high rates of sickness, increased workers’ comp. claims and high staff turnover, requiring recruiting and training of replacement staff. Now of course it is natural to have a certain amount of stress, this is needed to motivate people into action, but prolonged stress can have a huge impact on overall health which actually causes one to be in distress. Most people don’t realize it but over two- thirds of doctors visits are probably due to stress-related illnesses. Stress has been linked to headaches especially migraines, backaches, insomnia, cramps, elevated blood pressure, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and lowered resistance to infection. For women, stress is a key factor in hormonal imbalances resulting in menstrual irregularities, PMS, fibroids, endometriosis and fertility problems. Stress can also be a factor in the development of almost all state...

Northern States Power :: essays research papers fc

A leader in today's economic world, Northern States Power (NSP) is recognized for its outstanding performance in both regulated and nonregulated operations. Its regulated operation serves over two million electric and gas customers in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Arizona, and Michigan (NSP - Investor's Overview 1). Its head offices are located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is Mr. James J. Howard III (Howard 1). Its Viking Gas Transmission Company Subsidiary owns and operates a 500-mile natural gas pipeline (NSP - Investor's Overview 1). Northern States Power is one of the nation's leading energy companies with competitive rates, responsive service, and dependable and reliable energy. A relationship with NSP began's when they sign up for services with them; moreover, when you choose to live in a certain area. Some of the facts about NSP are services/people, profit, rates, and sources of power, standings, first aid/safety, Y2K, merger, and about how they help within the community. In North Dakota, NSP provides service to more than 80,000 electric customers and 30,000 gas customers in Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot, and many surrounding communities (NSP - Northern Dakota 1). They have served in these communities for over 80 years (Northern States Power Energy Wise 2). "By powering the world, NSP brings energy to (Howard 6):" ? The international markets where we do business ? The communities close to home where we contribute time and money ? To customers, who have ever-increasing energy needs and choices ? To employees, who make the energy work ? And finally, to you—the shareholders—who have placed trust in them The 24th straight year in a row to mark growth for NSP was 1998. Northern States Power's common stocks are traded on three different exchanges: New York Stock, Chicago Stock, and Pacific Stock. Its ticker tape symbol is NSP. Newspaper stock tables list NSP Company as NoStPw, NoStPwr, or NSPw (NSP - Investor's Overview's 2). Northern States Power and its subsidiaries reported earning of $52.3 million or 34 cents a share, for the first quarter of 1999. Operating revenue for the quarter was up 6 percent to $743.2 million. Warmer weather, increased maintenance, and Y2K computer work is the cause of the decreased earning (NSP First-quarter). "Advantages to being a registered shareholder are (NSP - Investor's overview 2):" ? Dividend checks are sent directly to you, deposited in the back account you designate, or maybe reinvested in the company as you choose ? You may purchase additional stock (through dividend reinvestment and optional investment plans) with little or no fees ? You may deposit your share certificates with the company for safekeeping if you sign up for the Dividend

An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’

Achebe, Chinua. â€Å"An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's ‘Heart of Darkness'† Massachusetts Review. 18. 1977. Rpt. in Heart of Darkness, An Authoritative Text, background and Sources Criticism. 1961. 3rd ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough, London: W. W Norton and Co. , 1988, pp. 251-261 In the fall of 1974 I was walking one day from the English Department at the University of Massachusetts to a parking lot. It was a fine autumn morning such as encouraged friendliness to passing strangers. Brisk youngsters were hurrying in all directions, many of them obviously freshmen in their first flush of enthusiasm.An older man going the same way as I turned and remarked to me how very young they came these days. I agreed. Then he asked me if I was a student too. I said no, I was a teacher. What did I teach? African literature. Now that was funny, he said, because he knew a fellow who taught the same thing, or perhaps it was African history, in a certain Community College not far from her e. It always surprised him, he went on to say, because he never had thought of Africa as having that kind of stuff, you know. By this time I was walking much faster. Oh well,† I heard him say finally, behind me: â€Å"I guess I have to take your course to find out. † A few weeks later I received two very touching letters from high school children in Yonkers, New York, who — bless their teacher — had just read Things Fall Apart . One of them was particularly happy to learn about the customs and superstitions of an African tribe. I propose to draw from these rather trivial encounters rather heavy conclusions which at first sight might seem somewhat out of proportion to them. But only, I hope, at first sight.The young fellow from Yonkers, perhaps partly on account of his age but I believe also for much deeper and more serious reasons, is obviously unaware that the life of his own tribesmen in Yonkers, New York, is full of odd customs and superstitions and, li ke everybody else in his culture, imagines that he needs a trip to Africa to encounter those things. The other person being fully my own age could not be excused on the grounds of his years. Ignorance might be a more likely reason; but here again I believe that something more willful than a mere lack of information was at work.For did not that erudite British historian and Regius Professor at Oxford, Hugh Trevor Roper, also pronounce that African history did not exist? If there is something in these utterances more than youthful inexperience, more than a lack of factual knowledge, what is it? Quite simply it is the desire — one might indeed say the need — in Western psychology to set Africa up as a foil to Europe, as a place of negations at once remote and vaguely familiar, in comparison with which Europe's own state of spiritual grace will be manifest.This need is not new; which should relieve us all of considerable responsibility and perhaps make us even willing to l ook at this phenomenon dispassionately. I have neither the wish nor the competence to embark on the exercise with the tools of the social and biological sciences but more simply in the manner of a novelist responding to one famous book of European fiction: Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness , which better than any other work that I know displays that Western desire and need which I have just referred to.Of course there are whole libraries of books devoted to the same purpose but most of them are so obvious and so crude that few people worry about them today. Conrad, on the other hand, is undoubtedly one of the great stylists of modern fiction and a good storyteller into the bargain. His contribution therefore falls automatically into a different class — permanent literature — read and taught and constantly evaluated by serious academics. Heart of Darkness is indeed so secure today that a leading Conrad scholar has numbered it â€Å"among the half-dozen greatest short n ovels in the English language. I will return to this critical opinion in due course because it may seriously modify my earlier suppositions about who may or may not be guilty in some of the matters I will now raise. Heart of Darkness projects the image of Africa as â€Å"the other world,† the antithesis of Europe and therefore of civilization, a place where man's vaunted intelligence and refinement are finally mocked by triumphant beastiality. The book opens on the River Thames, tranquil, resting, peacefully â€Å"at the decline of day after ages of good service done to the race that peopled its banks. But the actual story will take place on the River Congo, the very antithesis of the Thames. The River Congo is quite decidedly not a River Emeritus. It has rendered no service and enjoys no old-age pension. We are told that â€Å"Going up that river was like traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world. † Is Conrad saying then that these two rivers are very di fferent, one good, the other bad? Yes, but that is not the real point. It is not the differentness that worries Conrad but the lurking hint of kinship, of common ancestry. For the Thames too â€Å"has been one of the dark places of the earth. It conquered its darkness, of course, and is now in daylight and at peace. But if it were to visit its primordial relative, the Congo, it would run the terrible risk of hearing grotesque echoes of its own forgotten darkness, and falling victim to an avenging recrudescence of the mindless frenzy of the first beginnings. These suggestive echoes comprise Conrad's famed evocation of the African atmosphere in Heart of Darkness . In the final consideration his method amounts to no more than a steady, ponderous, fake-ritualistic repetition of two antithetical sentences, one about silence and the other about frenzy.We can inspect samples of this on pages 36 and 37 of the present edition: a) it was the stillness of an implacable force brooding over an inscrutable intention and b) The steamer toiled along slowly on the edge of a black and incomprehensible frenzy. Of course there is a judicious change of adjective from time to time, so that instead of inscrutable, for example, you might have unspeakable, even plain mysterious, etc. , etc. The eagle-eyed English critic F. R. Leavis drew attention long ago to Conrad's â€Å"adjectival insistence upon inexpressible and incomprehensible mystery. That insistence must not be dismissed lightly, as many Conrad critics have tended to do, as a mere stylistic flaw; for it raises serious questions of artistic good faith. When a writer while pretending to record scenes, incidents and their impact is in reality engaged in inducing hypnotic stupor in his readers through a bombardment of emotive words and other forms of trickery much more has to be at stake than stylistic felicity. Generally normal readers are well armed to detect and resist such under-hand activity.But Conrad chose his subject w ell — one which was guaranteed not to put him in conflict with the psychological predisposition of his readers or raise the need for him to contend with their resistance. He chose the role of purveyor of comforting myths. The most interesting and revealing passages in Heart of Darkness are, however, about people. I must crave the indulgence of my reader to quote almost a whole page from about the middle of the stop/when representatives of Europe in a steamer going down the Congo encounter the denizens of Africa. We were wanderers on a prehistoric earth, on an earth that wore the aspect of an unknown planet.We could have fancied ourselves the first of men taking possession of an accursed inheritance, to be subdued at the cost of profound anguish and of excessive toil. But suddenly as we struggled round a bend there would be a glimpse of rush walls, of peaked grass-roofs, a burst of yells, a whirl of black limbs, a mass of hands clapping, of feet stamping, of bodies swaying, of eyes rolling under the droop of heavy and motionless foliage. The steamer toiled along slowly on the edge of a black and incomprehensible frenzy. The prehistoric man was cursing us, praying to us, welcoming us — who could tell?We were cut off from the comprehension of our surroundings; we glided past like phantoms, wondering and secretly appalled, as sane men would be before an enthusiastic outbreak in a madhouse. We could not understand because we were too far and could not remember, because we were traveling in the night of first ages, of those ages that are gone, leaving hardly a sign — and no memories. The earth seemed unearthly. We are accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there — there you could look at a thing monstrous and free. It was unearthly and the men were †¦. No they were not inhuman.Well, you know that was the worst of it — this suspicion of their not being inhuman. It would come slowly to one. They ho wled and leaped and spun and made horrid faces, but what thrilled you, was just the thought of their humanity — like yours — the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar. Ugly. Yes, it was ugly enough, but if you were man enough you would admit to yourself that there was in you just the faintest trace of a response to the terrible frankness of that noise, a dim suspicion of there being a meaning in it which you — you so remote from the night of first ages — could comprehend.Herein lies the meaning of Heart of Darkness and the fascination it holds over the Western mind: â€Å"What thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity — like yours †¦. Ugly. † Having shown us Africa in the mass, Conrad then zeros in, half a page later, on a specific example, giving us one of his rare descriptions of an African who is not just limbs or rolling eyes: And between whiles I had to look after the savage who was fireman. He was an improved specimen; he could fire up a vertical boiler.He was there below me and, upon my word, to look at him was as edifying as seeing a dog in a parody of breeches and a feather hat walking on his hind legs. A few months of training had done for that really fine chap. He squinted at the steam-gauge and at the water-gauge with an evident effort of intrepidity — and he had filed his teeth too, the poor devil, and the wool of his pate shaved into queer patterns, and three ornamental scars on each of his cheeks. He ought to have been clapping his hands and stamping his feet on the bank, instead of which he was hard at work, a thrall to strange witchcraft, full of improving knowledge.As everybody knows, Conrad is a romantic on the side. He might not exactly admire savages clapping their hands and stamping their feet but they have at least the merit of being in their place, unlike this dog in a parody of breeches. For Conrad things being in their place is of the utmost importance. â€Å"Fine fellows — cannibals –in their place,† he tells us pointedly. Tragedy begins when things leave their accustomed place, like Europe leaving its safe stronghold between the policeman and the baker to like a peep into the heart of darkness.Before the story likes us into the Congo basin proper we are given this nice little vignette as an example of things in their place: Now and then a boat from the shore gave one a momentary contact with reality. It was paddled by black fellows. You could see from afar the white of their eyeballs glistening. They shouted, sang; their bodies streamed with perspiration; they had faces like grotesque masks — these chaps; but they had bone, muscle, a wild vitality, an intense energy of movement that was as natural and hue as the surf along their coast.They wanted no excuse for being there. They were a great comfort to look at. Towards the end of the story Conrad lavishes a whole page quite unexpectedly on a n African woman who has obviously been some kind of mistress to Mr. Kurtz and now presides (if I may be permitted a little liberty) like a formidable mystery over the inexorable imminence of his departure: She was savage and superb, wild-eyed and magnificent †¦. She stood looking at us without a stir and like the wilderness itself, with an air of brooding over an inscrutable purpose.This Amazon is drawn in considerable detail, albeit of a predictable nature, for two reasons. First, she is in her place and so can win Conrad's special brand of approval and second, she fulfills a structural requirement of the story: a savage counterpart to the refined, European woman who will step forth to end the story: She came forward all in black with a pale head, floating toward me in the dusk. She was in mourning †¦. She took both my hands in hers and murmured, â€Å"I had heard you were coming. â€Å"†¦ She had a mature capacity for fidelity, for belief, for suffering.The differ ence in the attitude of the novelist to these two women is conveyed in too many direct and subfile ways to need elaboration. But perhaps the most significant difference is the one implied in the author's bestowal of human expression to the one and the withholding of it from the other. It is clearly not part of Conrad's purpose to confer language on the â€Å"rudimentary souls† of Africa. In place of speech they made â€Å"a violent babble of uncouth sounds. † They â€Å"exchanged short grunting phrases† even among themselves. But most of the time they were too busy with their frenzy.There are two occasions in the book, however, when Conrad departs somewhat from his practice and confers speech, even English speech, on the savages. The first occurs when cannibalism gets the better of them: â€Å"Catch ‘im,† he snapped with a bloodshot widening of his eyes and a flash of sharp teeth — â€Å"catch ‘im. Give ‘im to us. † â€Å" To you, eh? † I asked; â€Å"what would you do with them? â€Å"Eat ‘im! † he said curtly. . . . The other occasion was the famous announcement:†Mistah Kurtz — he dead. † At first sight these instances might be mistaken for unexpected acts of generosity from Conrad.In reality they constitute some of his best assaults. In the case of the cannibals the incomprehensible grunts that had thus far served them for speech suddenly proved inadequate for Conrad's purpose of letting the European glimpse the unspeakable craving in their hearts. Weighing the necessity for consistency in the portrayal of the dumb brutes against the sensational advantages of securing their conviction by clear, unambiguous evidence issuing out of their own mouth Conrad chose the latter. As for the announcement of Mr.Kurtz's death by the â€Å"insolent black head in the doorway† what better or more appropriate finis could be written to the horror story of that wayward ch ild of civilization who willfully had given his soul to the powers of darkness and â€Å"taken a high seat amongst the devils of the land† than the proclamation of his physical death by the forces he had joined? It might be contended, of course, that the attitude to the African in Heart of Darkness is not Conrad's but that of his fictional narrator, Marlow, and that far from endorsing it Conrad might indeed be holding it up to irony and criticism.Certainly Conrad appears to go to considerable pains to set up layers of insulation between himself and the moral universe of his history. He has, for example, a narrator behind a narrator. The primary narrator is Marlow but his account is given to us through the filter of a second, shadowy person. But if Conrad's intention is to draw a cordon sanitaire between himself and the moral and psychological malaise of his narrator his care seems to me totally wasted because he neglects to hint however subtly or tentatively at an alternative frame of reference by which we may judge the actions and opinions of his characters.It would not have been beyond Conrad's power to make that provision if he had thought it necessary. Marlow seems to me to enjoy Conrad's complete confidence — a feeling reinforced by the close similarities between their two careers. Marlow comes through to us not only as a witness of truth, but one holding those advanced and humane views appropriate to the English liberal tradition which required all Englishmen of decency to be deeply shocked by atrocities in Bulgaria or the Congo of King Leopold of the Belgians or wherever.Thus Marlow is able to toss out such bleeding-heart sentiments as these: They were dying slowly — it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now, nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation lying confusedly in the greenish gloom. Brought from all the recesses of the coast in all the legality of time contracts , lost in uncongenial surroundings, fed on unfamiliar food, they sickened, became inefficient, and were then allowed to crawl away and rest.The kind of liberalism espoused here by Marlow/Conrad touched all the best minds of the age in England, Europe and America. It took different forms in the minds of different people but almost always managed to sidestep the ultimate question of equality between white people and black people. That extraordinary missionary, Albert Schweitzer, who sacrificed brilliant careers in music and theology in Europe for a life of service to Africans in much the same area as Conrad writes about, epitomizes the ambivalence. In a comment which has often been quoted Schweitzer says: â€Å"The African is indeed my brother but my junior brother. And so he proceeded to build a hospital appropriate to the needs of junior brothers with standards of hygiene reminiscent of medical practice in the days before the germ theory of disease came into being. Naturally he bec ame a sensation in Europe and America. Pilgrims flocked, and I believe still flock even after he has passed on, to witness the prodigious miracle in Lamberene, on the edge of the primeval forest. Conrad's liberalism would not take him quite as far as Schweitzer's, though. He would not use the word brother however qualified; the farthest he would go was kinship.When Marlow's African helmsman falls down with a spear in his heart he gives his white master one final disquieting look. And the intimate profundity of that look he gave me when he received his hurt remains to this day in my memory — like a claim of distant kinship affirmed in a supreme moment. It is important to note that Conrad, careful as ever with his words, is concerned not so much about distant kinship as about someone laying a claim on it. The black man lays a claim on the white man which is well-nigh intolerable. It is the laying of this claim which frightens and at the same time fascinates Conrad, â€Å"†¦ he thought of their humanity — like yours †¦. Ugly. † The point of my observations should be quite clear by now, namely that Joseph Conrad was a thoroughgoing racist. That this simple truth is glossed over in criticisms of his work is due to the fact that white racism against Africa is such a normal way of thinking that its manifestations go completely unremarked. Students of Heart of Darkness will often tell you that Conrad is concerned not so much with Africa as with the deterioration of one European mind caused by solitude and sickness.They will point out to you that Conrad is, if anything, less charitable to the Europeans in the story than he is to the natives, that the point of the story is to ridicule Europe's civilizing mission in Africa. A Conrad student informed me in Scotland that Africa is merely a setting for the disintegration of the mind of Mr. Kurtz. Which is partly the point. Africa as setting and backdrop which eliminates the African as human fa ctor. Africa as a metaphysical battlefield devoid of all recognizable humanity, into which the wandering European enters at his peril.Can nobody see the preposterous and perverse arrogance in thus reducing Africa to the role of props for the break-up of one petty European mind? But that is not even the point. The real question is the dehumanization of Africa and Africans which this age-long attitude has fostered and continues to foster in the world. And the question is whether a novel which celebrates this dehumanization, which depersonalizes a portion of the human race, can be called a great work of art. My answer is: No, it cannot. I do not doubt Conrad's great talents.Even Heart of Darkness has its memorably good passages and moments: The reaches opened before us and closed behind, as if the forest had stepped leisurely across tile water to bar the way for our return. Its exploration of the minds of the European characters is often penetrating and full of insight. But all that ha s been more than fully discussed in the last fifty years. His obvious racism has, however, not been addressed. And it is high time it was! 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. His own account of his first encounter with a black man is very revealing: A certain enormous buck nigger encountered in Haiti fixed my conception of blind, furious, unreasoning rage, as manifested in the human animal to the end of my days.Of the nigger I used to dream for years afterwards. Certainly Conrad had a problem with niggers. His inordinate love of that word itself should be of interest to psychoanalysts. Sometimes his fixation on blackness is equally interesting as when he gives us this brief description: A black figure stood up, strode on long black legs, waving long black arms. . . . as though we might expect a black figure striding along on black legs to wave white arms! But so unrelenting is Conrad's obsession. As a matter of interest Conrad gives us in A Personal Record what amounts to a companion piece to the buck nigger of Haiti.At the age of sixteen Conrad encountered his first Englishman in Europe. He calls him â€Å"my unforgettable Englishman† and describes him in the following manner: â€Å"(his) calves exposed to the public gaze . . . dazzled the beholder by the splendor of their marble-like condition and their rich tone of young ivory. . . . The light of a headlong, exalted satisfaction with the world of men. . . illumined his face. . . and triumphant eyes. In passing he cast a glance of kindly curios ity and a friendly gleam of big, sound, shiny teeth. . . his white calves twinkled sturdily. Irrational love and irrational hate jostling together in the heart of that talented, tormented man. But whereas irrational love may at worst engender foolish acts of indiscretion, irrational hate can endanger the life of the community. Naturally Conrad is a dream for psychoanalytic critics. Perhaps the most detailed study of him in this direction is by Bernard C. Meyer, M. D. In his lengthy book Dr. Meyer follows every conceivable lead (and sometimes inconceivable ones) to explain Conrad. As an example he gives us long disquisitions on the significance of hair and hair-cutting in Conrad.And yet not even one word is spared for his attitude to black people. Not even the discussion of Conrad's antisemitism was enough to spark off in Dr. Meyer's mind those other dark and explosive thoughts. Which only leads one to surmise that Western psychoanalysts must regard the kind of racism displayed by Co nrad absolutely normal despite the profoundly important work done by Frantz Fanon in the psychiatric hospitals of French Algeria. Whatever Conrad's problems were, you might say he is now safely dead. Quite true. Unfortunately his heart of darkness plagues us still.Which is why an offensive and deplorable book can be described by a serious scholar as â€Å"among the half dozen greatest short novels in the English language. † And why it is today the most commonly prescribed novel in twentieth-century literature courses in English Departments of American universities. There are two probable grounds on which what I have aid so far may be contested. The first is that it is no concern of fiction to please people about whom it is written. I will go along with that. But I am not talking about pleasing people.I am talking about a book which parades in the most vulgar fashion prejudices and insults from which a section of mankind has suffered untold agonies and atrocities in the past a nd continues to do so in many ways and many places today. I am talking about a story in which the very humanity of black people is called in question. Secondly, I may be challenged on the grounds of actuality. Conrad, after all, did sail down the Congo in 1890 when my own father was still a babe in arms. How could I stand up more than fifty years after his death and purport to contradict him?My answer is that as a sensible man I will not accept just any traveler's tales solely on the grounds that I have not made the journey myself. I will not trust the evidence even off man's very eyes when I suspect them to be as jaundiced as Conrad's. And we also happen to know that Conrad was, in the words of his biographer, Bernard C. Meyer, â€Å"notoriously inaccurate in the rendering of his own history. † But more important by far is the abundant testimony about Conrad's savages which we could gather if we were so inclined from other sources and which might lead us to think that these people must have had other occupations besides erging into the evil forest or materializing out of it simply to plague Marlow and his dispirited band. For as it happened, soon after Conrad had written his book an event of far greater consequence was taking place in the art world of Europe. This is how Frank Willett, a British art historian, describes it: Gaugin had gone to Tahiti, the most extravagant individual act of turning to a non-European culture in the decades immediately before and after 1900, when European artists were avid for new artistic experiences, but it was only about 1904-5 that African art began to make its distinctive impact.One piece is still identifiable; it is a mask that had been given to Maurice Vlaminck in 1905. He records that Derain was ‘speechless' and ‘stunned' when he saw it, bought it from Vlaminck and in turn showed it to Picasso and Matisse, who were also greatly affected by it. Ambroise Vollard then borrowed it and had it cast in bronze. . . The revolution of twentieth century art was under way! The mask in question was made by other savages living just north of Conrad's River Congo. They have a name too: the Fang people, and are without a doubt among the world's greatest masters of the sculptured form.The event Frank Willett is referring to marks the beginning of cubism and the infusion of new life into European art, which had run completely out of strength. The point of all this is to suggest that Conrad's picture of the people of the Congo seems grossly inadequate even at the height of their subjection to the ravages of King Leopold's lnternational Association for the Civilization of Central Africa. Travelers with closed minds can tell us little except about themselves. But even those not blinkered, like Conrad with xenophobia, can be astonishing blind.Let me digress a little here. One of the greatest and most intrepid travelers of all time, Marco Polo, journeyed to the Far East from the Mediterranean in the thi rteenth century and spent twenty years in the court of Kublai Khan in China. On his return to Venice he set down in his book entitled Description of the World his impressions of the peoples and places and customs he had seen. But there were at least two extraordinary omissions in his account. He said nothing about the art of printing, unknown as yet in Europe but in full flower in China.He either did not notice it at all or if he did, failed to see what use Europe could possibly have for it. Whatever the reason, Europe had to wait another hundred years for Gutenberg. But even more spectacular was Marco Polo's omission of any reference to the Great Wall of China nearly 4,000 miles long and already more than 1,000 years old at the time of his visit. Again, he may not have seen it; but the Great Wall of China is the only structure built by man which is visible from the moon! Indeed travelers can be blind. As I said earlier Conrad did not originate the image of Africa which we find in h is book.It was and is the dominant image of Africa in the Western imagination and Conrad merely brought the peculiar gifts of his own mind to bear on it. For reasons which can certainly use close psychological inquiry the West seems to suffer deep anxieties about the precariousness of its civilization and to have a need for constant reassurance by comparison with Africa. If Europe, advancing in civilization, could cast a backward glance periodically at Africa trapped in primordial barbarity it could say with faith and feeling: There go I but for the grace of God.Africa is to Europe as the picture is to Dorian Gray — a carrier onto whom the master unloads his physical and moral deformities so that he may go forward, erect and immaculate. Consequently Africa is something to be avoided just as the picture has to be hidden away to safeguard the man's jeopardous integrity. Keep away from Africa, or else! Mr. Kurtz of Heart of Darkness should have heeded that warning and the prowli ng horror in his heart would have kept its place, chained to its lair. But he foolishly exposed himself to the wild irresistible allure of the jungle and lo! he darkness found him out. In my original conception of this essay I had thought to conclude it nicely on an appropriately positive note in which I would suggest from my privileged position in African and Western cultures some advantages the West might derive from Africa once it rid its mind of old prejudices and began to look at Africa not through a haze of distortions and cheap mystifications but quite simply as a continent of people — not angels, but not rudimentary souls either — just people, often highly gifted people and often strikingly successful in their enterprise with life and society.But as I thought more about the stereotype image, about its grip and pervasiveness, about the willful tenacity with which the West holds it to its heart; when I thought of the West's television and cinema and newspapers, a bout books read in its schools and out of school, of churches preaching to empty pews about the need to send help to the heathen in Africa, I realized that no easy optimism was possible. And there was, in any case, something totally wrong in offering bribes to the West in return for its good opinion of Africa. Ultimately the abandonment of unwholesome thoughts must be its own and only reward.Although I have used the word willful a few times here to characterize the West's view of Africa, it may well be that what is happening at this stage is more akin to reflex action than calculated malice. Which does not make the situation more but less hopeful. The Christian Science Monitor, a paper more enlightened than most, once carried an interesting article written by its Education Editor on the serious psychological and learning problems faced by little children who speak one language at home and then go to school where something else is spoken.It was a wide-ranging article taking in Spanis h-speaking children in America, the children of migrant Italian workers in Germany, the quadrilingual phenomenon in Malaysia, and so on. And all this while the article speaks unequivocally about language. But then out of the blue sky comes this: In London there is an enormous immigration of children who speak Indian or Nigerian dialects, or some other native language. I believe that the introduction of dialects which is technically erroneous in the context is almost a reflex action caused by an instinctive desire of the writer to downgrade the discussion to the level of Africa and India.And this is quite comparable to Conrad's withholding of language from his rudimentary souls. Language is too grand for these chaps; let's give them dialects! In all this business a lot of violence is inevitably done not only to the image of despised peoples but even to words, the very tools of possible redress. Look at the phrase native language in the Science Monitor excerpt. Surely the only native language possible in London is Cockney English. But our writer means something else — something appropriate to the sounds Indians and Africans make!Although the work of redressing which needs to be done may appear too daunting, I believe it is not one day too soon to begin. Conrad saw and condemned the evil of imperial exploitation but was strangely unaware of the racism on which it sharpened its iron tooth. But the victims of racist slander who for centuries have had to live with the inhumanity it makes them heir to have always known better than any casual visitor even when he comes loaded with the gifts of a Conrad.