Symbols and Symbolism in Heart of Darkness - The Symbol of Ivory :: Heart Darkness essays

The Symbol of Ivory in Heart of Darkness           In Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad often uses vague,muted descriptions, leaving a melange of realizable meanings in the readers lap. One exception to this tr mop up is Conrads symbolic use of ivory. Within the frame of the story,  his references to ivory can obviously be seen as a prototype of the white mans greed. Towards the end of the book ivory comes to symbolize the oozing evil that drips from the heart of darkness.             It isnt long before Conrad makes a commentary on the greed of the whites. By the thirty-seventh page via Marlow associates them with a false religion. He says that the men at the Central put up are, like a lot of faithless pilgrims bewitched at heart a rotten fence. Pilgrims are usually people who travel to a holy place, so why the choice of words? Conrad further explains in the pastime lines when he says, The word ivory rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it. In their rapacity the pilgrims have placed ivory as their God, a realization that has greater meaning towards the end of the book.             The significance of ivory begins to move away from avarice and takes on a purely evil connotation as Marlow approaches those hearts of darkness the Inner Station and Kurtz. Kurtzs relationship with ivory seems to have been reiterated by every company member through the course of the story. Of course Kurtz harvested more ivory than all the other move combined, and therefore it almost seems appropriate that Conrad would use extensive ivory imagery in describing Kurtz. Earlier, during his digression on Kurtz, Marlow says, The wilderness had patted him on the head, and, behold, it was like a ball-an ivory ball. By the time that Kurtz is carried out on a stretcher the evil has so overtaken him that, I could see the cage of his ribs all astir, the bones of his gird waving.  It was as though an animated image of death carved out of old ivory had been shaking its hand with menaces at a motionless displace of men made of dark and glittering bronze. The evil has now grown to encompass his entire body, and soul.