Racist views, derogatory terms, oppression, and slavery are all present in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness." To question whether we should read it is a worthy thought to follow, but to truely analyze it you have to think of it from both the point of view of a present day reader and that of a reader back near the turn of the 20th century when the book was origionally released.
Living in the present day we can consider ourselves far more enlightened compared to how we know people were treated throughout history. The civil rights era has past and for the most part racism has been conquered with the exception of a few bad peas in the pod that is society. We can look at people of all race, gender, and beliefs equally, whether we agree with them or not, while in the 1800's these thoughts were far from reality. We may read "Heart of Darkness" now and consider it a racist view of how white colonialists are superior to anyone with a different color skin.
Back in the time Conrad wrote his most famous work, these racist beliefs were commonplace, and as people grew up they were pressured into these thoughts by others in society as well as by their parents teaching them. To read "Heart of Darkness" in the 1890's you would have seen nothing wrong with it.
Today we read the short novel and are given the chance to analyze it much more thoroughly based on the knowledge we have gained on the issues of race and equality. We have the opportunity to read a popular text and reflect on how things were a little over a century ago and see how far we have come. That analysis is why we should continue to read "Heart of Darkness" if for no other reason than to prevent history from repeating itself.
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