What is the importance of ivory throughout the novel? How does it function as both a literal and figurative image?
The ivory can be interpreted in several different ways; my initial thought was that it represents the greed the traders are practically overflowing with. Without ivory, the novella would not exist, and the same can be said about greed. Both ivory and greed set in motion what becomes the entire plot: why Marlow and Kurtz end up in Africa, why the natives are treated so inhumanely, and why Kurtz eventually goes mad. However, after thinking on it, I came to a few weird interpretations of the ivory in the book--they might not be right, but I might as well just throw out some guesses. The ivory could represent the racism presented in the book. The main characters strive for ivory, an expensive material that is literally white. In a way, this reflects how Kurtz and Marlow expect the natives to strive for a "civilized" way of life, or the lifestyle of a white man at the time. The ivory could also be interpreted as the purity lost within the jungle. Both Marlow and Kurtz could not have expected so much brutality in one place; after experiencing the horrors of African jungles, they had lost their purity. The color white often symbolizes purity; when the traders sold the ivory, they had, in a sense, sold their innocence.
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