I - Stave II Quiz — Heart of Darkness

What biblical allusion does Marlow use to describe the city of Brussels?

• A city upon a hill
• A whited sepulchre
• The valley of the shadow of death
• Sodom and Gomorrah

How did Captain Fresleven die?

• He drowned in the river
• He was stabbed with a spear by the chief's son
• He died of tropical fever
• He was poisoned by the natives

What were the two women in the Company office doing?

• Writing letters
• Knitting black wool
• Filing documents
• Sewing uniforms

What unusual request does the Company doctor make during Marlow's medical examination?

• He asks Marlow to run around the building
• He asks to measure Marlow's skull with calipers
• He asks Marlow to recite poetry from memory
• He asks to take a sample of Marlow's blood

How does Marlow's aunt view his mission in Africa?

• She is worried and tries to stop him
• She sees him as an emissary of light bringing civilization
• She is indifferent to his plans
• She views it as a purely commercial venture

What color on the map represents the territory Marlow is heading to?

• Red
• Blue
• Yellow
• Purple

What absurd military scene does Marlow witness during his voyage along the African coast?

• Soldiers building a fort in quicksand
• A French warship firing into the jungle at unseen enemies
• Two European armies fighting each other
• A naval blockade of a deserted harbor

What does the Swedish captain tell Marlow about a fellow countryman?

• A Swede hanged himself on the road upcountry
• A Swede became the richest man in the colony
• A Swede was eaten by a crocodile
• A Swede started his own trading company

Did Marlow secure his appointment entirely on his own without any help?

Did the Company doctor warn Marlow that psychological changes occur in men who go to Africa?

What does the word "sepulchre" mean as used in "a city that always makes me think of a whited sepulchre"?

• A marketplace
• A burial tomb or vault
• A government building
• A fortress

What does "lugubrious" mean in the phrase "a sense of lugubrious drollery"?

• Extremely funny
• Looking or sounding sad and dismal
• Brightly colored
• Violently aggressive

What is an "alienist" as used in Marlow's conversation with the doctor?

• A person who studies aliens
• A psychiatrist
• A translator
• A diplomat