Heart of Darkness: Part 3

In the image provided on the left, we see a humongous pile of ivory - the main treasure in the novel Heart of Darkness. This man in the picture has been imprisoned for the slaughter of a large number of elephants- the origin of Ivory. Much alike Kurtz, this man has encouraged even the native people to killing elephants for Ivory. Although it is not directly mentioned, how else would Kurtz obtain his Ivory? To understand this picture more look at the link provided - http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2011/08/one-small-step-for-elephants/#more-7701. On the right we see an image of Gollum, for those who have seen or read "The Lord of The Rings" you may know that he is obsessed with the ring, and in turn he is morphed into a thinned ugly creature- alike Kurtz. This man on the left and Gollum, can symbolize Kurtz and his obsession with it.

Ivory becomes an obsession as it means the increase of money- meaning power. This mans lust for power in turn kills many elephants also endangering the species. As this article claims "one arrest isn't enough to stop it, but it's a start" implies that there are many more like this man- and many more like Kurtz. To add on, this man is a white man wearing a suit, (this usually means that he has power- power meaning money) alike Kurtz who had power over the native Africans, this man uses them to obtain ivory.

Gollum on the other hand, is a simple presentation of obsession itself. he doesn't want to obtain power, (although the key to power is through the ring) he simply wants the ring. Gollums obsession for the ring morphs him into, an ugly, skinny, and sick creature; conlcuding to his death. The ring is much alike ivory, in that throughout the story "The Lord of The Rings" he is constantly attempting to regain the ring; and Kurtz is given a similar description as we read part three of the novel. Kurtz obsession leads to this description and ultimately his death.