Heart of Darkness

Which of these inferences is best supported by the following passage (paragraph 1)?

We had enlisted some of these chaps on the way for a crew. Fine fellows—cannibals—in their place. They were men one could work with, and I am grateful to them. And, after all, they did not eat each other before my face: they had brought along a provision of hippo-meat which went rotten, and made the mystery of the wilderness stink in my nostrils.

• The narrator is considering becoming a cannibal.

• The narrator believes his crewmembers to be skilled and competent, despite their different customs.

• The cannibals respect their captain.

• The narrator was hesitant to accept cannibals onto his crew, but is happy he changed his mind.

What is most likely the central or main idea of the following passage (paragraph 1)?

The dawns were heralded by the descent of a chill stillness; the woodcutters slept, their fires burned low; the snapping of a twig would make you start. We were wanderers on a prehistoric earth, on an earth that wore the aspect of an unknown planet. We could have fancied ourselves the first of men taking possession of an accursed inheritance, to be subdued at the cost of profound anguish and of excessive toil.

• Marlow believes he and his crew have literally time-traveled to the Stone Age.

• Marlow is desperate to return home.

• Marlow views the journey as necessary for his religious beliefs and spiritual enlightenment.

• 1. Marlow compares the Congo to an undiscovered planet, and feels it is his duty to tame the wilderness, no matter the cost.

What does the following passage mainly reveal about Marlow (paragraph 2)?

But he must at least be as much of a man as these on the shore. He must meet that truth with his own true stuff—with his own inborn strength. Principles? Principles won’t do. Acquisitions, clothes, pretty rags—rags that would fly off at the first good shake.

• Marlow believes people should be true to their principles, not matter what the cost.

• Marlow thinks of principles as disposable.

• Marlow wants the readers to examine their own convictions.

• Marlow disdains ethical conduct.

The following passage from Heart of Darkness (paragraph 2) is written in the tense________, from a __________ point of view.

The earth seemed unearthly. We are accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there—there you could look at a thing monstrous and free. It was unearthly, and the men were—No, they were not inhuman. Well, you know, that was the worst of it—this suspicion of their not being inhuman.

• present; first-person

• present; third-person

• past; first-person

• past; third-person

Which of these sentences best summarizes the following passage (paragraph 1)?

Trees, trees, millions of trees, massive, immense, running up high; and at their foot, hugging the bank against the stream, crept the little begrimed steamboat, like a sluggish beetle crawling on the floor of a lofty portico. It made you feel very small, very lost, and yet it was not altogether depressing, that feeling. After all, if you were small, the grimy beetle crawled on—which was just what you wanted it to do.

• Marlow compares the ship to the grandeur of the jungle.

• Marlow considers himself to be the bravest crewmember.

• Marlow believes that the immensity and grandeur of the jungle will not deter the humble ship’s progress.

• The steamboat’s miniscule size disheartens the crew.

Which of these sentences from the excerpt most strongly supports the correct answer to Question 5?

-- Marlow believes that the immensity and grandeur of the jungle will not deter the humble ship’s progress.--

• "Trees, trees, millions of trees, massive, immense, running up high;”

• "and at their foot, hugging the bank against the stream,”

• “It made you feel very small, very lost,”

• “After all, if you were small, the grimy beetle crawled on—which was just what you wanted it to do.”

Which of these inferences about Marlow is best supported by the excerpt?

• He seeks out adventure in order to get over heartbreak.

• He has fallen in love with the jungle, and has decided to move there permanently.

• He has a condescending attitude toward the native population.

• He has a condescending attitude toward Kurtz.

Which of these sentences most strongly supports the correct answer to Question 7?

-- He has a condescending attitude toward the native population. --

• “We were wanderers on a prehistoric earth, on an earth that wore the aspect of an unknown planet.”

• “I had to watch the steering, and circumvent those snags, and get the tin-pot along by hook or by crook.”

• “There was surface-truth enough in these things to save a wiser man.”

• “He ought to have been clapping his hands and stamping his feet on the bank, instead of which he was hard at work, a thrall to strange witchcraft, full of improving knowledge.”