Why do you think Conrad juxtaposes a description of dying natives (paras. $40–42$) with a description of the meticulously attired chief accountant (para. $43$)? How does the proximity of these two descriptions help you visualize the Company’s station?

Marlow’s tale of his journey into the heart of darkness is set within the “frame” of four travelers on the Nellie waiting for the tide to turn so they can head out to sea. How does this narrative frame affect your interpretation of Marlow’s storytelling?

Marlow’s fascination with Africa began with a white patch on maps he pored over as a boy (para. 18). In this description, he uses several figures of speech: “It had ceased to be a blank space of delightful mystery”; “a mighty big river, that you could see on the map, resembling an immense snake”; “it fascinated me as a snake would a bird.” What does Marlow’s language suggest about how he sees the African continent — particularly the river and the role it would play in his life?

Conrad introduces the reader to Marlow with a short description in paragraph $4$: “Marlow sat cross-legged right aft, leaning against the mizzen-mast. He had sunken cheeks, a yellow complexion, a straight back, an ascetic aspect, and, with his arms dropped, the palms of hands outwards, resembled an idol.” What does this description suggest to you about Marlow’s character?

Discuss the ways in which Marlow is both attracted to and repulsed by the idea of Kurtz.

What is the significance of Marlow’s leaving his steamboat to follow Kurtz to the bonfire in the forest?

How does Marlow respond to the cannibals under his control (paras. $82–83$)? Consider also the cannibals’ resistance to hunger, as Marlow describes it in paragraph $89$. What does he mean by the “remote kinship” he feels? How is Marlow’s response both typical and atypical of other Europeans in the story?

In paragraph 80, Marlow begins his journey on the steamboat to Kurtz. Why does he find the practical work of navigation steadying? Why does he remember so many concrete details of this work?

When Marlow arrives at Central Station after a two-hundred-mile trek, he meets the manager and finds that the man “inspired uneasiness” (para. $53$). Why does Marlow respond this way? What does Marlow make of the fact that the manager was “never ill”? What do you think Conrad is saying about the manager by making him resistant to tropical disease?

What does the Eldorado Exploring Expedition (paras. $72–73$) represent to Marlow?

How do you interpret the final paragraph of the novel? Why does Conrad give the last spoken word to the Director?

Marlow first refers to Kurtz as “the poor chap” (para. $15$). In retrospect, do you think this is an accurate description, an understatement, an ironic comment, or a combination of all three?

In paragraph 58, Marlow describes a painting Kurtz made of “a woman, draped and blindfolded, carrying a lighted torch.” What message was Kurtz sending with this painting? At this point in the story, do you think Marlow would agree or disagree with this message? Why?

In paragraphs $11–13$, Conrad foreshadows what Marlow experiences on his own journey into the heart of darkness. What did you make of this passage when you first read it? How do you interpret it now upon rereading and in light of the whole tale?