Heart of Darkness Part 3 Questions
Comprehension Questions
1. At the Inner Station, continued (71-80). (“I looked at him, lost…”)-How does Marlow describe the Russian at
the beginning of Part 3? What does the Russian tell Marlow to do with Kurtz (“On the contrary…”)? How does the
Russian describe his relations with Kurtz? How did Kurtz get so much ivory?
2. (“On the contrary…”)- What does Marlow see when he turns his binoculars on Kurtz' compound again? How
does what Marlow sees relate to the idea of restraint? How does Marlow evaluate Kurtz in this paragraph? How,
according to the Russian, did Kurtz control the natives?
3. What happens that evening when Kurtz is brought out on a stretcher (“Suddenly round the corner of the
house…”)? How does Marlow describe him? What to Marlow seems to be the most important of Kurtz' attributes?
How was Marlow included in the letters that the boat had brought to Kurtz (“Some of the pilgrims behind…” to the
next paragraph)?
4. How does Marlow describe the woman (“Dark human shapes could be…” to the next 2 paragraphs)? Notice her
action at the top of p. 78 for later reference. What sort of encounter did the Russian once have with the woman (“If
she had offered to come aboard…”)? Why is this comment significant?
5. (At this moment I heard Kurtz's deep voice…” to the next few paragraphs)-How does Kurtz respond to Marlow?
How does the manager respond to Kurtz? What is wrong, to the manager, with what Kurtz has done? What does the
Russian suggest to Marlow? What does he ask for? What does the Russian now think of Kurtz?
6. Marlow and Kurtz (80-88). (“I came upon him, and, if he had not heard me coming… to next two
paragraphs”) What happens to Kurtz that evening? What images come to Marlow's mind as he tracks Kurtz?
Where was Kurtz going? Why is the moment of their confrontation important to Marlow? How does Marlow think
of Kurtz?
7. What does the woman do as the boat is departing with Kurtz ("We had carried Kurtz into the pilot-house…”)?
What do the natives do when Marlow blows the boat's whistle? What does the woman do? Then what do the
pilgrims do?
8. What does Kurtz talk about to Marlow on the boat and how does Marlow respond ("One evening coming in with
a candle…” to next paragraphs). What are Kurtz' last words (86)? How does Marlow interpret them?
9. What happens to Marlow after Kurtz' death (“All the pilgrims rushed…” to next three paragraphs)? How does
Marlow think of death? How much to we learn of Marlow's trip back down the river and back to the sepulchral city?
10. Return to the Sepulchral City (88-90) (“No, they did not bury me…” to next paragraphs) What happens to
Marlow back in the sepulchral city? What does Marlow do with (and learn from) his three visitors: the man in
spectacles, Kurtz' "cousin", and the journalist? (all in “No, they did not bury me…” paragraph) What does
Marlow think of them?
11. Marlow and the Intended (90-94) (The dusk was falling... to next paragraphs with dialogue) What does
Marlow think of as he approaches the Intended's home? What is the setting in which Marlow and the Intended meet,
and how does he describe her?
12. What do Marlow and the Intended say to each other ("’Intimacy grows quick out there,'…” through dialogue
paragraphs)? How is she responding to Kurtz' death? When she puts out her arms, what does Marlow see?
13. (The last word he pronounced was…)-What does Marlow say Kurtz' last words were? What were Kurtz' actual
last words to Marlow? Why is Marlow surprised when "nothing happened"? What did he expect to happen? What
does he think of his lie? (Remember p. 64.)
14. Consider Marlow's relation to women (especially, in this case, to the Intended). What does his statement (p. 64)
say about him: "They -- the women I mean -- are out of it -- should be out of it. We must help them to stay in that
beautiful world of their own, lest ours get worse." Why might Marlow hold a position like this? Going to the next
level: does this seem to be the position of Conrad, of the novel Heart of Darkness, or is the novel aware of and
somehow commenting on Marlow's position?
15. The Closing (Marlow ceased, and sat apart…)-What is the effect of the closing paragraph, with its return to the
ship on the Thames? What is the effect of the repetition of the image of Marlow as a Buddha (from Part I)? What do
you make of the last repetition of the book's title in the last phrase? Which way are they going?
Heart of Darkness Part 3 Questions
“On the Whole Questions” for Heart of Darkness
1. The Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe has claimed that Heart of Darkness is an "offensive and deplorable book" that "set[s] Africa up as a foil
to Europe, as a place of negations at once remote and vaguely familiar, in comparison with which Europe's own state of spiritual grace will be
manifest." Achebe says that Conrad does not provide enough of an outside frame of reference to enable the book to be read as ironic or critical
of imperialism. Based on the evidence in the text, argue for or against Achebe's assertion.
2. As you read the novel, be aware of how Conrad uses repeated "doubling" patterns of opposition and contrast in Heart of Darkness: light and
dark, white and black, "savagery" and "civilization," outer and inner? What does Conrad accomplish by these contrasts?
3. Marlow constantly uses vague and often redundant phrases like "unspeakable secrets" and "inconceivable mystery." At other times,
however, he is capable of powerful imagery and considerable eloquence. Why does Marlow use vague and "inconclusive" language so
frequently?
4. Why does Heart of Darkness have two competing heroes? Make the case for either Marlow or Kurtz as the true "hero" of the book. How do
you define "hero" for this book? Why doesn't Marlow kill Kurtz?
5. Think about the framing story that structures Heart of Darkness. Why is it important to narrate Marlow in the act of telling his story? Why is
the framing narrator unnamed?
6. Interpret Kurtz's dying words ("The horror! The horror!"). What do they mean? What are the possible "horrors" to which he is referring?
Why is Marlow the recipient of Kurtz's last words?
7. What do women represent in Heart of Darkness? There are three significant women in this story: Kurtz's Intended, Marlow's aunt, and the
African woman at Kurtz's station. How are they described? Contrast Kurtz's African mistress with his Intended. Are both negative portrayals of
women? Describe how each functions in the narrative. Does it make any difference in your interpretation to know that Conrad supported the
women's suffrage movement? What does Marlow mean early in Part 1 when he suggests that women are "out of touch with truth" and live in a
beautiful world of their own?
8. Describe the use of "darkness" both in the book's title and as a symbol throughout the text. What does darkness represent? Is its meaning
constant or does it change?
9. How does physical illness relate to madness? How does one's environment relate to one's mental state in this book?
10. Why does Marlow lie to Kurtz's fiancée about Kurtz's last words? Why not tell her the truth, or tell her that Kurtz had no last words, rather
than affirming her sentimental and mundane ideas?
11. Joseph Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness (1899) may have been influenced of Charles Darwin’s The Decent of Man (1871), in which
Darwin concluded that “the civilised races of man will almost certainly exterminate and replace throughout the world the savage races.” This
Darwinian belief also influenced Nietzsche’s “Superman Theory” (1870s) that allowed traditional morality to be suspended by those
extraordinary individuals who were acting for the betterment of humanity… a justification for murder in the name of improving the human
condition. Discuss how Conrad treats these ideas through Marlow’s experience on the Congo River.
12. Heart of Darkness is ostensibly about Marlow’s journey into the heart of Africa, but this literal journey has symbolic implications as well,
implications which Conrad purposefully leaves ambiguous. In response to a reader’s letter inquiring the actual meaning of a text, Conrad
responded, “Coming to the subject of your inquiry, I wish first to put before you a general proposition: that a work of art is very seldom limited
to one exclusive meaning and not necessarily tending to a definite conclusion. And this for the reason that the nearer it approaches art, the more
it acquires symbolic character” (vii-viii). So without Conrad spelling it out for us, what do you think the heart of darkness represents within
this novella?
13. Chiaroscuro is the artistic contrast of light and shade. From Italian, meaning “bright dark,” it is a term referring to the effect
obtained in a painting or literary work when light and dark images or patterns of imagery are contrasted or emphasized. Conrad
repeatedly utilizes chiaroscuro and often uses reverses of the traditional symbolism of black and white in Heart of Darkness.
Analyze why he chooses this technique. Locate two examples where he uses traditional symbolism and four examples where
symbolic value is inverted.
14. Conrad often employs impressionism to depict how scenes appear—or what they seem to be. Discuss the impact of literary
impressionism on Conrad’s message. Find three examples where he refers to a person, place, or object using this conflict—the
conflict of illusion versus reality. (seems, appears, looks like)
15. Invent titles for each of the three chapters, and provide a brief defense for each of your titles. Make sure that you explain how
these titles relate to the novella title and provide specific textual support.
16. If you were, like Francis Ford Coppola (who shifted the setting to late 1960s Vietnam in his 1979 film Apocalypse Now) to retell Heart of
Darkness in another setting, where and when would you set it? Design a cinematic adaptation of the film!