Setting
The setting in the beginning of Heart of Darkness
What is England?
The word Marlow uses to describe the man that interviews him at The Company
What is "uneasy"?
The color of the wool being used by the woman outside of the Company
What is the color black?
The first obstacle in Marlow's way of getting to the Congo
What is obtaining a steamboat?
The year the Congo gained its independence?
What is 1960?
The animal Marlow compares to the Congo river.
What is an uncoiled snake?
The most consistent character trait Marlow has exhibited throughout the novel
What is curiosity?
The food item Marlow gives the starving African
What is a biscuit?
What happened to Marlow's ship when he Africa.
What is "IT SUNK"?
3 items ivory is used to make.
What are Piano keys, religious figurines, and billiard balls?
Marlow describes going to the center of the Congo as similar to going to......
What is the center of the earth?
How does Marlow describe the Eldorado Exploring Company?
What is greedy, messy, or unchecked power?
The item needs to fix his boat.
What are rivets?
The insect Marlow compares the ship to
What is a beetle?
The two most valuable commodities in the Congo
What is rubber and ivory?
The name of the steamer the men are traveling on in the beginning of the novel
What is the Nellie?
How Marlow describes the cannibals onboard.
What is having restraint?
The conversation between the manager and his uncle around Kurtz reflects
What is hypocrisy?
The significance of Marlow's descriptions of the African natives develop a concept of
What is dehumanization/animalization?
What body part did the Leopold's soldier cut off as justification for their lost bullets?
How does the motif of light and darkness connect to the setting on the Congo?
Sample response: The Congo setting in Heart of Darkness shows how light and darkness symbolize more than just day and night. The jungle and river are dark and mysterious, representing confusion and cruelty beneath the surface of imperialism. As Marlow travels deeper, the physical darkness reflects how he begins to uncover uncomfortable truths.
Which character in the story does Marlow glaze the most? What kinds of phrases does he use to describe him?
Sample Response:
In the middle of the chaotic and decaying Outer Station, the accountant stands out as immaculately dressed, wearing a starched collar, white trousers, and polished boots—completely impractical for the jungle setting
The primary conflict in heart of darkness is an internal or external conflict.
What is an internal conflict?
What grounds the reader in the fact that they are reading a story within a story?
Sample response: the occasional narrative breaks that direct the reader back to the present.
What are the long lasting repercussions of the colonialism in the Congo?
Sample response: Tyranny, political upheaval/disorganization