Heart of Darkness

Joseph Conrad · 1899

Ten questions on plot, characters and themes. Take it free. Pass 7 of 10 to ace it.

Question 1 of 10

Who tells the main story of the novella?

Kurtz, in a long monologueCharlie Marlow, a seaman, who tells it aloud to a small group of listenersAn anonymous accountant in BrusselsMarlow's aunt, in a series of letters

Question 2 of 10

Where is the story being told?

On the deck of a yawl anchored on the Thames, at the mouth of the riverIn a London gentleman's club, in front of a fireIn a courtroom in BrusselsOn the deck of a steamer in the open sea

Question 3 of 10

What job does Marlow take in Africa?

Captain of a river steamboat for a Belgian trading companyManager of a railway construction projectDoctor for the colonial administrationOfficer in the army of an unnamed European nation

Question 4 of 10

What trade is the company most interested in?

DiamondsIvoryRubberCotton

Question 5 of 10

Who is Kurtz, in reputation, when Marlow first hears of him?

A failed missionary the company is sending homeA new, unproven recruitAn exceptionally successful and respected ivory agent deep in the interior, said to be a remarkable manA criminal the company is trying to capture

Question 6 of 10

What does Marlow witness about the treatment of African workers along the way?

Workers given fair pay, plentiful food, and Sunday restChained groups of prisoners and emaciated, dying men abandoned to die in a groveA formal European-style school being built for themA peaceful village uninterested in the white visitors

Question 7 of 10

What does Marlow find at Kurtz's Inner Station that signals how far he has gone?

A formal chapel and orderly garrisonSevered heads on stakes around Kurtz's house and a personal cult of devoted followersA working hospital with European doctorsAn organised library and printing press

Question 8 of 10

What are Kurtz's famous final words, whispered as he dies?

'God forgive me''Mister Kurtz, he dead''The horror! The horror!''Let me go home'

Question 9 of 10

After returning to Europe, whom does Marlow visit?

The company's chief directorKurtz's mother in his villageKurtz's Intended, his fiancée in a European cityA newspaper that wants to publish Kurtz's story

Question 10 of 10

What does Marlow tell the Intended about Kurtz's last words?

He tells her the truth, that Kurtz cried out 'The horror! The horror!'He refuses to say anything and leavesHe lies and tells her Kurtz's last word was her nameHe reads her a long passage from Kurtz's notebook

0 of 10 answered