The importance of ivory
by Ines, Luca, and Alessio

In this paper we will analyse the meaning of Ivory in Heart of Darkness. After reading the book, every member of our group has chosen one of the three sections of the book and we have taken into consideration and commented some sentences or passages containing references to ivory. This work is the result of the discussion between all the persons in the group, and, even if we have divided the paper in three different parts, for us this is a unique work. 

Paragraphs where ivory is mentioned

First Part of the book
· Everything else in the station was in a muddle -- heads, things, buildings. Strings of dusty niggers with splay feet arrived and departed; a stream of manufactured goods, rubbishy cottons, beads, and brass-wire set into the depths of darkness, and in return came a precious trickle of ivory. (page 84)

· Further questions elicited from him that Mr. Kurtz was at present in charge of a trading-post, a very important one, in the true ivory-country, at 'the very bottom of there. Sends in as much ivory as all the others put together . . .' (page 84)

· The word 'ivory' rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it.  (page 89)

· The only real feeling was a desire to get appointed to a trading-post where ivory was to be had, so that they could earn percentages. (page 91)

· What was in there? I could see a little ivory coming out from there, and I had heard Mr. Kurtz was in there.(page 94)
 

Second Part
· Can you imagine such impudence!' 'Anything since then?' asked the other hoarsely. 'Ivory,' jerked the nephew; 'lots of it -- prime sort -- lots -- most annoying, from him.' (page 100)

· 'How did that ivory come all this way?' growled the elder man, who seemed very vexed. (page 100)

· The other explained that it had come with a fleet of canoes in charge of an English half-caste clerk Kurtz had with him; that Kurtz had apparently intended to return himself, the station being by that time bare of goods and stores, but after coming three hundred miles, had suddenly decided to go back, which he started to do alone in a small dugout with four paddlers, leaving the half-caste to continue down the river with the ivory. (page 100)

· 'No one, as far as I know, unless a species of wandering trader -- a pestilential fellow, snapping ivory from the natives. (page 101)

· The word ivory would ring in the air for a while -- and on we went again into the silence, along empty reaches, round the still bends, between the high walls of our winding way, reverberating in hollow claps the ponderous beat of the stern-wheel. (page 104)

· The approach to this Kurtz grubbing for ivory in the wretched bush was beset by as many dangers as though he had been an enchanted princess sleeping in a fabulous castle. (page 114)

· Hadn't I been told in all the tones of jealousy and admiration that he had collected, bartered, swindled, or stolen more ivory than all the other agents together? (page 119)

· The wilderness had patted him on the head, and, behold, it was like a ball -- an ivory ball; it had caressed him, and -- lo! -- he had withered; it had taken him, loved him, embraced him, got into his veins, consumed his flesh, and sealed his soul to its own by the inconceivable ceremonies of some devilish initiation. He was its spoiled and pampered favourite. 
· 'My ivory.' Oh, yes, I heard him. 'My Intended, my ivory, my station, my river, my -- ' everything belonged to him. (page 121)

· I've sent him one small lot of ivory a year ago, so that he can't call me a little thief when I get back. (page 128)

Third part
· 'Well, I had a small lot of ivory the chief of that village near my house gave me. You see I used to shoot game for them. Well, he wanted it, and wouldn't hear reason. He declared he would shoot me unless I gave him the ivory and then cleared out of the country, because he could do so, and had a fancy for it, and there was nothing on earth to prevent him killing whom he jolly well pleased. And it was true, too. I gave him the ivory. (page 131)

· And he would say yes, and then he would remain; go off on another ivory hunt; disappear for weeks; forget himself amongst these people -- forget himself -- you know.' (page 131)

· Evidently the appetite for more ivory had got the better of the -- what shall I say? -- less material aspirations. (page 132)

· "At this moment I heard Kurtz's deep voice behind the curtain: 'Save me! -- save the ivory, you mean. Don't tell me. Save ME! Why, I've had to save you. You are interrupting my plans now. (page 138)

· Upon the whole, the trade will suffer. I don't deny there is a remarkable quantity of ivory -- mostly fossil. (page 138)

· One of the agents with a picket of a few of our blacks, armed for the purpose, was keeping guard over the ivory; but deep within the forest, red gleams that wavered, that seemed to sink and rise from the ground amongst confused columnar shapes of intense blackness, showed the exact position of the camp where Mr. Kurtz's adorers were keeping their uneasy vigil. (page 140)

· I saw on that ivory face the expression of sombre pride, of ruthless power, of craven terror -- of an intense and hopeless despair. (page 147)

· All that had been Kurtz's had passed out of my hands: his soul, his body, his station, his plans, his ivory, his career. (page 152)

· 'This lot of ivory now is really mine. The Company did not pay for it. I collected it myself at a very great personal risk. I am afraid they will try to claim it as theirs though. (page 135)

Ivory and the situation in the book

In the book “Heart of Darkness” Joseph Conrad often uses the word ivory. For me the word ivory has many different meanings and I think the most important one is the representation of the white men’s greed. The first time you can find ivory on page 84, so it has a greater importance towards the end of the book when Marlow arrives at the Inner station and when he meets Kurtz.
I am of the opinion that ivory plays a dual role in significance in “Heart of Darkness”. I think on the one hand it is representative of evil and greed of the white men and on the other hand it is representative of the measures of the natives in the jungle and of the black people. The best example for the white men’s cruelty and greed in the book is Kurtz who is often mentioned in connection with the word ivory. I think he is also the reason why ivory becomes so important in the book. If there wouldn’t be his cruel methods to get ivory and his megalomania nobody would matter about this material and it’s “history”!
Ivory can be also seen as good and evil and maybe it is also a symbol for the contrast between white and black people, because as a colour ivory is really pure and “untouched”, but on the other side you can always read “ivory” in combination with “darkness” and darkness is as you know always dark and dismal. So ivory is according to Conrad responsible for all the disproportions in Africa and especially in the Congo. 
Sometimes I also have the feeling that Conrad’s use of ivory is a little bit ironic, because for me ivory is a rare and valuable material but in the book it’s often used in connection with Kurtz whose soul is purely black.
In addition I think that a lot of people think that it’s good to deal with ivory. Maybe they believe that besides the ivory which the white men are taking out of the jungle that they are also bringing something good and progress to the jungle. I am not an expert to know what the people in the jungle think or what they need to survive but I know that it’s definitely the wrong way to maltreat the natives and black men to make money with ivory. Maybe that’s not the situation today because I think that most whites are poachers themselves, but in “Heart of Darkness” you can see how much the black men must suffer because of the whites. 
Moreover do they ever see a banknote of the deals with ivory or were compensated for their hard work? No, I don’t think so. The white men and Kurtz at the top of all give the orders and the black men work and suffer, but they never get some money. The profit gets the white people although they do nothing out of giving commands. That isn’t fair, isn’t it? Furthermore I think that the only good side of ivory was/is that it is one of the purest and whitest found in nature as a material, but as with each thing there are also bad sides and in my opinion the negative aspect is that the blacks had to work very hard to get the ivory and to satisfy the white men’s greed, at least at that time. But for me it’s very sad that also today a lot of black people are used and misused as salves and that in our modern society, in the year 2005! I think that is unbelievable at least for me.

The importance of ivory by means of some examples

· First part of the book (Ines )
1)“The word 'ivory' rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it.” (page89, paragraph 2, line 6)

Conrad often uses ivory in connection with something religious. He describes that the men are wandering around with absurd long staves in their hands in the same way like pilgrims do that. He says “you would think they were praying to it”, so to all appearances ivory is a god for them or ivory is the god besides Kurtz for all of the natives. But why? It seems that ivory is their life, that it’s holy and that everyone has respect of it. Is it because Kurtz is the “father of ivory”? This so- called “ivory-keeper” is responsible for all the mistreatments of the blacks in the jungle because of his greed and his megalomania for ivory. So the natives have respect for him and maybe are also a little bit afraid of him, because they have seen many examples for his cruelty. I think Kurtz does everything for “his” ivory and he is also willing to kill people if he doesn’t get what he wants. The best example is as Kurtz threatens to kill the Russian trader who gets a small quantity of ivory and who refuses to give it to Kurtz. 
Furthermore I think the natives are praying to ivory because it’s one of the purest found in nature. The natives are black, the jungle is black because of the darkness and also their country, the Congo is one door to the heart of darkness and therefore purely black. Maybe they need some light in their darkness, because also their “god”, Kurtz, is in reality a really dark person and responsible for the measures of the blacks. It seems that ivory with the colour white is a ray of hope for them although it has also a share of the responsibility of their suffering.

2)“What was in there? I could see a little ivory coming out from there, and I had heard Mr. Kurtz was in there.” (page 94, paragraph one, line 9)
What does Conrad mean with “in there” and what with “out from there”? Firstly ivory is also in this paragraph written in connection with Kurtz, that means one example of many because you can always read ivory in combination with darkness, Kurtz, religious symbols…I think with “in there” Conrad expresses definitely the jungle and the Congo, because it’s the dark place where ivory is coming out. And of course Kurtz is in there because he brings all the ivory out of the jungle, at least he gives the commands and the blacks are working for him. In the book you can often read that Kurtz is the greatest ivory trader on earth, so I think you can find Kurtz everywhere where you can also find this material. For me it seems that Kurtz and ivory are similarly as allied.
At this point of the book I think Marlow feels very unsafe. He hasn’t any image what is waiting for him “in there”. Is Kurtz an angel, a fiend or an enemy? Marlow always hears stories of Kurtz, his brutality and his greed for ivory, so Kurtz is a voice for him and nothing more. I also think that Marlow doesn’t know what or whom he should believe, because on the one hand some people admire and pray to Kurtz as their god and they would die for him and on the other hand people warn Marlow not to come too close to Kurtz because he is a fiend. I believe Marlow comes to the jungle with the aim to call Kurtz to account because of his cruel methods to get ivory and because of his mistreatment of the blacks, but also Marlow can change as we can see in the second and third part of the book.

· Second part of the book (Luca )
1) Can you imagine such impudence!' 'Anything since then?' asked the other hoarsely. 'Ivory', jerked the nephew; 'lots of it -- prime sort -- lots -- most annoying, from him”. (page 100, paragraph 1, line 8)

In the first part of ‘Second Section’ of Hearth Of Darkness, Marlow is on his boat and listens to a dialogue between an uncle and his nephew about Mr. Kurtz and .... the ivory. 
After reading this part of the section, it is evident how Conrad reports the events of the colonialism age. In this period Britain was in search for ivory for its commerce, and Africa was the most important producer of it in the world. 
Ivory is cause of destruction and decay for Africa and Africans. The English arrive in the dark continent and with them arrive slavery, fear, exploitation of the continent resources…Kurtz is the typical “English at heart”, his country is himself, he has destroyed many villages and he has abused of many slaves in the name of a God that in that land is named ‘Ivory’. And he did it non in the name of his country but in the name of his own desire of power. 
This God doesn’t ask for prayers, He asks for a real cult, and Kurtz is His right arm. The search for ivory is his work, black slaves are his workmen, and he is the head of all. We can say that the Americans’ “Gold Fever” corresponds to Kurtz’s “Ivory Fever”. 

2) The wilderness had patted him on the head, and, behold, it was like a ball -- an ivory ball; it had caressed him, and -- lo! -- he had withered; it had taken him, loved him, embraced him, got into his veins, consumed his flesh, and sealed his soul to its own by the inconceivable ceremonies of some devilish initiation. He was its spoiled and pampered favourite. (page 121, paragraph 1, line 5)

After meeting Kurtz, Marlow describes him very minutely and he is struck by noticing that a man as Kurtz is consumed by the ivory fever. 
Because of the ivory, Kurtz lives in loneliness, surrounded by dangers, ill; a boastful man who he does not have any friends, he has only followers for the conquest of the Ivory. Ivory is Kurtz’s companion.
Ivory rises the reputation and wealth of the people who possess it but rises hate, competition and destruction of moral part of men. Ivory is the centre of economy and the centre of power; it is a symbol, an important symbol in that land.
But his God has ruined him, and Conrad in the passage mentioned above, underlines how a venerated and hated man, that had subdued many persons, now has been subdued by his same God: Ivory.
The Colonialism age is finished, and with it, it’s the end of slavery and fear. According to me Marlow is a mediator between modern age and old colonialism age.
Colonialism brings to Africa, the “white” land of the God Ivory, a nefarious and “black” wake of decay and destruction. 

· Third part of the book (Alessio)
1) “You can't judge Mr. Kurtz as you would an ordinary man. No, no, no! Now -- just to give you an idea -- I don't mind telling you, he wanted to shoot me, too, one day -- but I don't judge him.' 'Shoot you!' I cried 'What for?' 'Well, I had a small lot of ivory the chief of that village near my house gave me. You see I used to shoot game for them. Well, he wanted it, and wouldn't hear reason. He declared he would shoot me unless I gave him the ivory and then cleared out of the country, because he could do so, and had a fancy for it, and there was nothing on earth to prevent him killing whom he jolly well pleased. And it was true, too. I gave him the ivory. What did I care! But I didn't clear out. No, no. I couldn't leave him. I had to be careful, of course, till we got friendly again for a time.” (page 132)
This part of the 3rd section of the book is the first sentence in which we find the word ivory, so important to Kurtz. In this part the young Russian boy is telling how Kurtz’s reason is centred on hoarding ivory, because this demostrates how Kurtz is able to kill his faithful friend for a misery stock of ivory.

2) "At this moment I heard Kurtz's deep voice behind the curtain: 'Save me! -- save the ivory, you mean. Don't tell me. Save ME! Why, I've had to save you. You are interrupting my plans now. Sick! Sick! Not so sick as you would like to believe. Never mind. I'll carry my ideas out yet -- I will return. I'll show you what can be done. You with your little peddling notions -- you are interfering with me. I will return. I. . . .'(page 139) 
In this part Kurtz’s delirium is starting in the first part of the dialogue referring to ivory. He is still worried for the men’s expedition and yet for his life. His heart is worried about the idea of abandoning the “heart of darkness”, the earth of ivory. Also in the little time left, he has in mind only hoarding ivory.

3) "'Now, if he does not say the right thing to them we are all done for,' said the Russian at my elbow. The knot of men with the stretcher had stopped, too, halfway to the steamer, as if petrified. I saw the man on the stretcher sit up, lank and with an uplifted arm, above the shoulders of the bearers. 'Let us hope that the man who can talk so well of love in general will find some particular reason to spare us this time,' I said. I resented bitterly the absurd danger of our situation, as if to be at the mercy of that atrocious phantom had been a dishonouring necessity. I could not hear a sound, but through my glasses I saw the thin arm extended commandingly, the lower jaw moving, the eyes of that apparition shining darkly far in its bony head that nodded with grotesque jerks. Kurtz -- Kurtz -- that means short in German -- don't it? Well, the name was as true as everything else in his life -- and death. He looked at least seven feet long. His covering had fallen off, and his body emerged from it pitiful and appalling as from a winding-sheet. I could see the cage of his ribs all astir, the bones of his arm 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 crowd of men made of dark and glittering bronze. I saw him open his mouth wide -- it gave him a weirdly voracious aspect, as though he had wanted to swallow all the air, all the earth, all the men before him. A deep voice reached me faintly. He must have been shouting. He fell back suddenly. The stretcher shook as the bearers staggered forward again, and almost at the same time I noticed that the crowd of savages was vanishing without any perceptible movement of retreat, as if the forest that had ejected these beings so suddenly had drawn them in again as the breath is drawn in a long aspiration. (page 139)
In this part, the sense of ivory is tied to the death figure, that seems to want to bring Kurtz in the final darkness. Marlow’s impression is that Kurtz, also in the final part of his life, wanted to bring with him, in the world of the deads, the heart of darkness of Africa, that was the reason of life during his last years.

By Ines, Luca, and Alessio