Question

50 POINTS

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

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 howled 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.

Read the passage from Frank Willett, a British art historian.

Gauguin 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!

Which statement best explains how African culture is presented in the two excerpts?

1 Conrad presents Africans as religious, while Willett suggests that they are incredibly artistic.
2 Conrad describes Africans in beautiful terms, while Willett uses language like “speechless” and stunned.”
3 Conrad says that Africans are wild and free, a view shared by Willett, Picasso, and Matisse.
4 Conrad describes Africans as savages, while Willett is impressed with their sophisticated cultures

Answer 1

The answer above is correct.

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

I believe it is D: Conrad describes Africans as savages, while Willett is impressed with their sophisticated cultures.

Step-by-step explanation: In the first paragraph, Conrad says things like "They howled and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces" but in the second paragraph, Willett describes how African art had such an affect on artists such as Picasso and Matisse.