Question: What does “Ivory” symbolize in Heart of Darkness?
Ans. Ivory is the white, bone-like substance that forms the tusks of elephants and is used for ornaments, piano keys, and other decorative objects. During Conrad’s time, the Congo was valued by Western nations chiefly as a source of ivory. Mr. Kurtz had been sent by the Belgian Trading Company as an agent to collect ivory and dispatch it to Europe through the Manager of the Company’s Central Station.
The entire apparatus of the Central Station, as well as the other stations, revolves around ivory. Mr. Kurtz proves to be the most successful agent in the sense that he collects more ivory than all the other agents combined. He does not merely collect ivory; in the process of acquiring it, he develops an obsessive passion for it. The Manager of the Central Station, while criticizing Kurtz’s greed, remarks that one might have heard him say, “My Intended, my ivory, my station, my river, my—”.
This intense passion for ivory reveals the extreme depth to which human greed can descend. Mr. Kurtz frequently ventures deep into the interior of the Congo in his quest for ivory. Even when he lies seriously ill, he repeatedly urges those around him to save his ivory lest it be plundered. Thus, ivory symbolizes the greed, exploitation, and rapacious mentality of the Western imperial powers.
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