Bald as Ivory

I am trying to figure out what Marlow thinks of Mr. Kurtz. He talks about Kurtz in different ways, usually making me think he does not respect Kurtz, but sometimes his commentary is not always consistent. His goal is to find find Kurtz, the man who is "grubbing for ivory" in the middle of the "wretched" jungle (77). At this moment, Marlow thinks of Kurtz as a man trying to find ivory by any means neccessary. Marlow's use of the word of "grubbing" gives a negative connotation. I picture a fat, greasy man grubbing at his food, scraping everything he can off his plate.

However, when Marlow starts to think that "Mr. Kurtz is dead...by this time," a "sense of extreme dissapointment" overcomes him for the sole reason that now he cannot have "a talk with Mr. Kurtz" (86). I think Marlow is so dissapointed because he wants to confront the man that seems to encompass everything that he thinks of as the "heart of darkness." Maybe that is why "of all [Kurtz's] gifts the one that [stands] out preeminently , that [carries] with it a sense of real presence, [is] his ability to talk" (86). I think ivory is a symbol of evil in Heart of Darkness. Ivory represents the white man's greed and evil in the novel. Marlow describes Kurtz as "an ivory ball" because of his bald head (87). Conrad turns Kurtz into the ultimate "white" man. His bald appearance actually reflects his personality: greedy and inhumane.