"I had him behind me – a helper – a tool." (Conrad 76) This quote shows Marlow's view of the black natives as tools used to achieve a goal. According to Marlow, the natives are an inferior race and are brutes or uncivilized animals. Marlow, Kurtz, and the manager describe how power and greed, as well as the respect they have for the lives of the natives, negatively affect them. They have no respect for the locals and see them as property and a way to gain prestige. The initial goal of the English colonists should have been to help the natives civilize themselves, but when the English realize that they can do whatever they want due to the lack of authority, they lose all restraint. Then, for a moment, look at the native as human beings with character traits that include drives, motivations, abilities, weaknesses and moderation. The manager and Kurtz use the natives as tools to achieve their personal goals and ambitions. Both desire power and prestige, and one way to achieve this is to exploit the native population to harvest more ivory. The manager wants to eliminate Kurtz from the equation because he has a lot of influence over the Company and is stifling the manager's growth at the top. Kurtz is revered as a god by many Englishmen because of the enormous quantities of ivory he collects and ships down the river to the company. Marlow even feels “a sense of extreme disappointment” (Conrad 70) when he believes that Kurtz is dead and will never have the chance to speak to him. The men who work for the company hold Kurtz in such high regard that they say, “You don't talk to that man, you listen to him” (Conrad 80). When Marlow and the manager realize what Kurtz is like, they see that he is physically ill and mad with greed. The manager uses this to say, "Kurtz has done more harm than good to the Company," even though he "neglected to constantly grieve" for Mr. Kurtz. The manager is trying to exploit Kurtz's near-death to gain power and prestige in the Company. Marlow sees through the manager's plan and sees Kurtz's madness. An example of Kurtz's obsession with power is the severed heads still looking towards his house to symbolize that they still admire him. This shows that both Kurtz and the manager are greedy and power hungry. Kurtz wants to rule the native population and the manager wants to see Kurtz fail so he can take his place.