Heart of Darkness Test

Heart of Darkness opens in what setting?

a boat on the Thames river 

Where does Kurtz die?

on Marlow’s steamboat

What does Marlow discover atop the fence posts at the Inner Station?

severed human heads

In what does the Company primarily trade?

ivory

Who receives Kurt’s “Report” after his death?

a journalist 

Where do most of Marlow’s adventures take place?

The Congo

What does Marlow give to the Russian trader?

gun cartridges, tobacco, shoes

What do the men at the Central Station hear about the fate of the Eldorado Exploring Expedition?

all the pack animals are dead

What does Kurtz write at the end of his “Report” on the natives?

“exterminate all the brutes”

What one thing does Marlow need to repair his wrecked steamer?

rivets

Who does not accompany Marlow on his journey up the river from the Central Station?

chief accountant 

How does Marlow’s helmsman die?

gets impaled by a spear in the side

The Company is from what country?

Belgian

Whom does Marlow encounter at the Company’s offices?

2 women wearing black and knitting

Why are the cannibals aboard the steamer hungry?

their hippo meat was rotten so they threw it overboard

Who is ultimately responsible for the attack on the steamer?

Kurtz

Marlow’s predecessor with the Company dies as a result of a quarrel over what?

2 black hens

The last person Marlow sees in Brussels is who?

Kurtz’s finance 

What lie does Marlow tell Kurtz’s finance?

Marlow tells her that Kurtz’s last words were her name

Who helps Marlow to get a job with the Company?

his aunt

What does the Russian trader leave downriver for the approaching steamer?

firewood 

Before he goes to Africa, where had Marlow been on a voyage?

Asia

Where does Marlow encounter the “grove of death”?

the Outer Station

What is the chief accountant’s most notable characteristic?

he looked spotless and clean in his all white clothes compared to everyone else around him

At the Central Station what does the native laborers burn?

a hut full of trade goods

What are Kurt’s last words?

“The horror! The horror!”

How did Marlow obtain his position with the trading company?

through his aunt’s influence 

How far did Marlow have to travel to get to his ship?

200 miles

In what condition is the steamer when Marlow arrives? Why?

It had sunk to the bottom of the river and needed repairs. It had struck stones and sunk under command of a volunteer captain.

As Part 2 begins, the manager of the Central Station is discussing Kurtz. What is the manager’s concern?

Kurtz’s assistant showed up at the station with canoes full of ivory from Kurtz and news that Kurtz had been ill and “recovered imperfectly”. The manager is concerned that they had no news from Kurtz’s station for months and had been hearing strange rumors.

Give three phrases Marlow uses to describe the jungle. What mood do these convey?

“lurking death”, “hidden evil”, “heart of darkness”, “a thing monstrous and free”— these phrases keep the mood of the story dark and foreboding, there is a sense of facility in their journey 

How did the fireman on the steamer think the boiler worked?

The fireman was told that the boiler had an evil spirit in it and that it would get angry and seek vengeance if they allowed it to become thirsty.

Marlow marveled that the cannibals on board the steamer showed restraint. From what did he say they were restraining themselves?

from killing and eating one of the pilgrims

How did Kurtz react to being treated like a god?

He relished the idea. He played the game until he began to see himself as a god. 

What did Marlow see through his binoculars when he looked at the poles in front of Kurtz’s hut?

human heads

As Kurtz goes downstream, what happens to him physically? What might this symbolize?

He deteriorates physically, which shows that he was so much part of the land and had invested himself there that he could not survive away from it.

Why did Conrad choose the title Heart of Darkness?

the nature of humanity

What is the Central theme of Heart of Darkness?

examples- hypocrisy of imperialism, darkness within the human soul, power and greed lead to corruption