Heart of Darkness

Guided Reading Questions

Chapter 1 (3-14)

1. What characters are present as the novel opens? What do they have in common
professionally? Why do you think they are not named? What is the setting (time of day
and place) and its significance?

2. What is the significance of the narrator’s commentary on English sea captains and their
ships (4)? How does this broad historical view connect to the time of day the men are
onboard the Nellie?

3. Marlowe says that England “‘has been one of the dark places of the earth…. darkness
was here yesterday’” (5-6). What does he mean by “dark”? What is the significance of
his description of the Roman presence in England (specifically of the experiences of the
hypothetical “decent young fellow in a toga” (6)?

4. Describe the map of Africa that Marlow has as a child. What does the Congo River (he
doesn’t mention it by name on page 8) remind him of?

5. Marlow is hired to replace Fresleven. What happens to Fresleven in the Congo (8-9)?
How might his experience perhaps connect to the doctor’s questions (see question #7)?

6. Describe Marlowe’s attitude towards his aunt and women in general (see page 8, 12-13).
What is his aunt’s attitude towards bringing western values to Africans?
7. Describe the two women at the Company offices and comment on what they might
symbolize.

8. Briefly describe the Company doctor, Marlowe’s conversation with him, and the
symbolic significance of each. Note in particular: “the changes take place inside” (12);
“avoid irritation more than exposure to the sun” (12); “any madness in your family?”
(12).

9. On his journey, Marlow describes a French steamer shooting into the shore of the Congo
River. What effect do the Europeans have “firing into a continent” (14)? Why does
Marlow call the efforts of the French “lugubrious drollery” (14). What literary device
does that phrase illustrate?