Final answer:
The quote from Heart of Darkness indicates the colonizers' obsession with ivory, symbolizing their greed and the dehumanization of Africa.
Step-by-step explanation:
The quotation "The word 'ivory' rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it." from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness suggests the obsession and reverence that the European colonizers had for ivory, treating it almost like a deity. This reverence for ivory is indicative of the colonizers' greed and the extent to which they dehumanised Africa and its people for their economic gain. Ivory, in this context, symbolizes colonial exploitation and the materialistic values that drive imperialism.
The significance of this quote is underscored by Chinua Achebe's critique which highlights how the novella dehumanizes Africans, displaying them as the antithesis of European civilization and intelligence, reduced to a backdrop for the European struggle for power and wealth.
Achebe's powerful argument reminds readers that the cultural and racial attitudes portrayed in Heart of Darkness cannot be excused by its aesthetic qualities, asserting that literature's political and social implications should never be ignored.
Moreover, the view of ivory as a sacred commodity also reflects historical attitudes towards the material, which was seen as a luxury item in ancient and byzantine art and carving, as pointed out by art critique discussions. The novella therefore serves a dual role as a work of art and a document reflecting and perpetuating the prejudiced views of its time, making the reader question the morality and the cost of colonialism and trade.