English Heart of Darkness Test – Flashcards
Unlock all answers in this set
Unlock answersquestion
The Accountant
answer
personifies companies' goals and methods, clothes are spotless
question
Brick maker
answer
useless worker in crew at Central Station
question
Cannibals
answer
natives who work on ship with Marlow
question
Company Doctor
answer
interested in effects of jungle on European minds
question
The district of the Congo
answer
where most of setting takes place, uncivilized, "the heart of darkness"
question
Joseph Conrad (author)
answer
Polish, British writer, influenced by his travels over sea and around world; looked at how people dealt with the effects of stress
question
Different Ships
answer
see different people (natives, Russians) along way, The Nellie
question
Framing Device
answer
narrator remains anonymous; frame narrative
question
Harlequin
answer
russian freelance trader who meets Kurtz in the jungle
question
Helmsman
answer
native that dies on the boat by a spear
question
The Jungle
answer
symbol of savagery of human nature
question
Kurtz
answer
really sick at end of story; major ivory trader; good at job
question
Kurtz' Intended
answer
his fiancé, in Europe. dressed all in black (mourning), Marlow lies to her about Kurtz' last words
question
Kurtz' Mistress
answer
dresses in bright colors, draped in jewelry, native
question
Manager
answer
works out of Central Station and oversees companies' activities in Congo; cause for wreck of steamboat
question
Manager's Boy
answer
used as symbol to show that possessions tend to take on the character of the owner; native; classify him as overfed, different from other natives
question
Marlow
answer
main protagonist; shocked by what he saw throughout the story
question
Narrator
answer
another seaman, never named
question
Novella
answer
short novel
question
Pilgrims
answer
the Europeans at the Central Station, wanted the chance to go out on Congo River to make money from the Ivory they were collecting
question
Sounder
answer
person with sounder morals will not take the ivory
question
Snake-like description (Congo)
answer
Marlow remembers the importance of maps when he was a child, remembers a river in Africa "snake uncoiled", evil river leading to no good
question
Swedish Captain
answer
foreshadowing strange things will happen; first captain to first station
question
Describe in detail the setting where the story begins.
answer
mouth of the River Thames, wind has died, tide is still going out, dusk, bright lights on shore
question
Who is the narrator of the story?
answer
an unnamed sailor on the Nellie
question
Describe Marlow's physical appearance.
answer
like an idol because of the way he is sitting
question
The narrator describes the recent history of the Thames. What are some of the activities of the men who have sailed out, from the mouth of the river?
answer
war, adventures, sought wealth, found wealth raiding colonies, questionable trading practices
question
What effect does Conrad achieve by alluding to the pirates Francis Drake and John Franklin?
answer
explored the world, all sought wealth
question
What are the Golden Hind, the Erebus and the Terror?
answer
golden hind was sir francis drakes' ship. the erebus and the terror were sir john franklin's ships
question
How is Marlow different from typical seamen?
answer
wanderer seeking to learn more about the world and human nature
question
What technique does Conrad start using once Marlow begins to speak?
answer
a story-within-a story
question
What simile does Conrad use for the mighty river that Marlow wants to explore?
answer
a great snake
question
How does Marlow's aunt help him get the appointment as river steamboat captain?
answer
knew the wife of a high company official
question
What are the steps in the process that begins Marlow's employment with the Company?
answer
interviewed briefly by a secretary, signs some documents, physical examination
question
The city and the Company are never given names in the story. How does this affect the reader's experience of the story?
answer
universal quality to the story and that the behavior of colonialists is the same everywhere
question
As he travels on a French steamer to his new post, Marlow observes a French warship firing at the coastline. What does this scene suggest about what the rest of the story will entail?
answer
low regard for human life, foreshadows the inability of the Europeans to deal effectively with the wilderness and its inhabitants
question
When he arrives, what things does Marlow see on his walk to the first station?
answer
an overturned railroad engine, animal carcasses, broken, rusted machinery, chained prisoners, natives dying, hears explosions
question
Why does Marlow call the chief accountant a "miracle"?
answer
perfectly dressed in spite of the heat and the decaying station around him
question
What does Marlow learn about Kurtz from the accountant?
answer
kurtz is in charge of an important trading post and sends in more ivory than all the other agents combined; important position, remarkable person
question
How does Marlow get from the first station to the Central Station?
answer
caravan of sixty people
question
What does Marlow learn about his steamboat when he arrives?
answer
steamboat has sunk to the bottom of the river
question
How does Marlow describe the general manager at the Central Station?
answer
not particularly good at his job, blessed with good health
question
What does Marlow like about his hard work repairing the steamboat?
answer
learned about the reality of himself and what he can accomplish, which no other person can really understand
question
How is Eldorado Exploring Expedition contrast to Marlow's mission with the steamboat?
answer
The Expedition has fancy equipment but no foresight, marlow has a steamboat in poor condition with a difficult crew but has a clear purpose
question
What is Conrad suggesting by calling the rival company the "Eldorado" expedition?
answer
that the mercenary motives of the explorers of the Eldorado Exploring Expedition will lead them to ruin
question
What does Marlow need to complete the repairs on the steamboat and why is this so frustrating to him?
answer
rivets
question
What rhetorical device is illustrated when Marlow says of the Eldorado Expedition, that they were "reckless without hardihood, greedy without audacity, and cruel without courage"?
answer
antithesis
question
Heart of Darkness was originally published in three installments. On what suspenseful note does Conrad end this first installment?
answer
explorer-traders from the Eldorado exploring expedition have arrived and create a tense contrast with Marlow and his crew; marlow wondering about the success of Kurtz' moral crusade
question
On what suspenseful note does this second installment begin?
answer
Marlow overhears another conversation about Kurtz
question
What does Marlow learn when he overhears the station manager talking to his uncle?
answer
kurtz has been very ill, trading post being a center, improving the lives of the natives
question
What is significant about the image Marlow begins to develop of Kurtz?
answer
a lone white man, sitting in the center of a canoe paddled by four Africans, turning his back on civilization, foreshadowing the type of man marlow will encounter
question
What is the prevailing metaphor Marlow uses to describe traveling up the river?
answer
traveling back into prehistory
question
How do the cannibals help Marlow?
answer
help push the steamboat off sandbars when it gets stuck
question
What metaphor is used for the steamboat as it moves up the river?
answer
slugglish beetle
question
How is the steamboat attacked?
answer
shower of arrows
question
Who is the only person to die and how is he killed?
answer
the helmsman is killed by a spear thrust into his side
question
How does Marlow frighten the natives and stop the attack?
answer
blows the steam whistle on the boat several times
question
Why does Marlow dispose of the helmsman's body so quickly?
answer
afraid the cannibals on crew will eat it
question
What mysterious book does Marlow find at a station fifty miles below Kurtz's station?
answer
the finer points of seamanship
question
Describe the man who greets Marlow at the Inner Station.
answer
young Russian wearing bizarre clothes, no sense of the possible danger, advocate of Kurtz, adventure
question
Marlow thought there were notes written in code in the book he found. What was this "cipher"?
answer
Russian
question
Why do the surroundings seem prehistoric to Marlow?
answer
this land has not been tamed by man, and its inhabitants behave in unfamiliar ways
question
The steamboat anchors for the night eight miles below Kurtz's station. What troubling events happen in the morning?
answer
surrounded by an impenetrable white fog, hear the eerie sounds of the natives
question
What does Marlow mean when he says that women must be helped to "stay in that beautiful world of their own"( p. 47)?
answer
their idealism and morals will help keep the world of men from getting worse
question
Kurtz wrote a pamphlet for what organization?
answer
International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs
question
What surprising sentence did Kurtz add to his pamphlet long after he wrote it? What might have motivated him to write it?
answer
"Exterminate all the brutes"; belief that what he attempted initially was a hopeless cause
question
On what suspenseful note does Conrad end the second installment of the novel?
answer
mystery of why the natives attacked Marlow's boat, how Mr. Kurtz enlarged the Russian's mind, purpose of the notes in the margins, what lies farther upriver
question
The Russian says, "I had gone so far that I don't know how I'll ever get back" (p. 53). What does this mean literally and symbolically?
answer
literally= gone so far up the river and doesn't know how he can get back symbolically= he can never adjust to normal civilized behavior again
question
When Marlow asks what Kurtz had traded for ivory, what does the Russian reply?
answer
coerced natives into giving him ivory
question
Why did Kurtz threaten to shoot the young Russian?
answer
wanted small amount of ivory
question
What does the Russian tell Marlow about Kurtz's recent activities?
answer
very ill
question
What does Marlow suddenly realize about the knobs on the posts by the building and the symbolic meaning they may have?
answer
symbols of power, consisting of actual human heads
question
As Marlow talks with the Russian, a group of men suddenly appears with a stretcher. What happens next?
answer
group of natives appear with spears and bows, seems to threaten the natives and they leave
question
Describe the physical appearance of the woman who walks up along the river and describe what she does.
answer
wearing striped and fringed cloth and brass circlets on her forearms and lower legs, stands on the shore, raises her arms, and leaves
question
When Kurtz is very ill, Marlow says that the manager "considered it necessary to sigh, but neglected to be consistently sorrowful" (p. 59) What does he mean?
answer
suggesting the manager knows it is appropriate that he show some concern for the sick man, but he doesn't mean it
question
Who does the Russian say was responsible for the attack on the steamboat?
answer
kurtz
question
What does the Russian take with him when he departs?
answer
shows, cartridges, tobacco
question
What does Marlow do when he discovers that Kurtz has left his sickbed?
answer
follows kurtz's trail, threatens kurtz with physical violence
question
Why does Marlow believe Kurtz's soul has gone mad?
answer
length of time kurtz has been in wilderness
question
Why don't the pilgrims want Marlow to blow the steamboat whistle as they take Kurtz and the ivory away?
answer
frighten natives away, and they hoped to shoot them
question
Marlow believes that the dark wilderness has cast a spell over Kurtz. What is the effect of this spell?
answer
awakened brutal instincts and primitive passions
question
What shakes Kurtz's confidence in returning to a glorious welcome in Europe?
answer
the delay when the ship stops for repairs makes him realize he may not live long enough
question
What does Kurtz entrust to Marlow?
answer
papers, photo
question
Why does Marlow consider Kurtz's last words a victory?
answer
what he has become, what the universe is really like
question
In what way does Marlow come to consider Kurtz a remarkable man? How does Marlow feel he compares to Kurtz?
answer
learned something from his life; when marlow faced death he did not say anything because he did not know how to say it
question
What is the significance of Kurtz' dying words?
answer
kurtz' realization that there is no hope of redemption, idealistic goals where themselves vain, depth of darkness in human heart
question
What was the nature of Kurtz' idealism that the Intended still reveres?
answer
kurtz learns that even the civilized saviors are not any different from the savages they attempt to save
question
Explain what Marlow means when he says, "I have wrestled with death"
answer
been so sick that he almost died
question
Who are the three visitors who try to get Kurtz's papers from Marlow when he returns to Europe?
answer
company official, cousin, journalist
question
What are the eerie physical details associated with the Intended and her drawing room?
answer
a cold and monumental fireplace, a piano like a sarcophagus, the ashy halo of the Intended's hair and her luminous forehead
question
What does the Intended means when she says, "He drew men towards him by what was best in them"
answer
believes kurtz was such a good, moral man that he inspired others to be like him
question
When the Intended extends her arms as if after a retreating figure, what does Marlow think of and why?
answer
native woman who held same pose
question
When the Intended asks about Kurtz's last words, what does Marlow say and why?
answer
says last words were the intended's name because he knows that the lie will be comforting to her
question
This novel was first published in serialized installments. How do the ends of Chapters One and Two leave the reader eager for the next installment
answer
mystery of kurtz
