What does ivory symbolize in “Heart of Darkness?”

Premium

What does ivory symbolize in Heart of Darkness NU Joseph Conrad s - Heart of Darkness shows how greed rules the empire Ivory is the most powerful symbol in the novel It is wealth beauty and power But it is also corruption death and moral darkness Ivory as Wealth and Greed From the start of Marlow s journey ivory is the main goal of the Europeans At the Central Station Marlow says The word ivory rang in the air was whispered was sighed This shows that ivory is like a god The traders do not care about men only about ivory It becomes the symbol of greed that drives imperialism Ivory as Power and Rivalry At the Inner Station the Russian trader says about Kurtz Sends in as much ivory as all the others put together This shows Kurtz s power His success with ivory makes the Manager and Brickmaker

jealous For them ivory means position and control It is not about helping Africa but fighting for more profit and power Ivory here becomes a symbol of rivalry inside the empire Ivory as Corruption and Death Ivory is white and pure But in the novel it is tied to death and cruelty The Africans suffer and die for it Outside Kurtz s hut Marlow sees skulls on stakes Kurtz himself cries at death The horror The horror His focus on ivory has destroyed his soul Thus ivory becomes the symbol of corruption and moral decay In the novel Heart of Darkness ivory is more than trade It is greed at the Outer Station rivalry at the Central Station and corruption at the Inner Station It is the heart of imperial darkness nbsp

Heart of Darkness

Contents

What does ivory symbolize in “Heart of Darkness?”

Continue Reading

From this writer

Joseph Conrad

More Notes