His essay "A Bloody Racist: About Achebe's View of Conrad" defends Heart of Darkness as an anti-imperialist novel, suggesting that "part of its greatness lies in the power of its criticisms of racial prejudice." Palestinian–American theorist Edward Said agreed in his book Culture and Imperialism that Conrad criticised imperialism, but added: "As a creature of his time, Conrad could not grant the natives their freedom, despite his severe critique of the imperialism that enslaved them".
O seu ensaio, "A Bloody Racist: About Achebe's View of Conrad", defende Heart of Darkness como um romance anti-imperialista, sugerindo que "parte da sua grandeza reside no poder das suas críticas ao preconceito racial". O teórico palestino-americano Edward Said concordou, no seu livro Culture and Imperialism, que Conrad criticou o imperialismo, mas acrescentou: "Como criatura do seu tempo, Conrad não pôde garantir aos nativos a sua liberdade, apesar da sua forte crítica ao imperialismo que os escravizava".