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57 pages 1 hour read

Joseph Conrad

An Outpost Of Progress

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1897

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Exam Questions

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-book review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Why does Kayerts take the post at the outpost?

A) To earn a dowry for his daughter

B) To build his reputation

C) To save enough to retire

D) To run away from the law

2. What do the physical changes in Kayerts and Carlier reflect?

A) Their adjustment to the Congo

B) Their devolution away from being civilized, educated people

C) Their hypocrisy

D) Their understanding of the jungle

3. “Progress was calling to Kayerts from the river” is an example of which kind of figurative language?

A) Imagery

B) Metaphor

C) Personification

D) Simile

4. Which plot scenario best represents Makola’s complex existence in a Belgian outpost located in the Congo?

A) Makola understands the antiquated bookkeeping system.

B) Makola coolly negotiates to trade humans for ivory.

C) Makola speaks multiple languages.

D) Makola covers up Carlier’s murder.

5. What do the fog and the jungle symbolize?

A) A world of paradox and moral relativism

B) A world of confusion and uncertainty

C) A world of danger and threats

D) A world of opportunity and progress

6. What is the name “Great Civilizing Company,” in contrast to the company’s work, an example of?

A) Symbolism

B) Irony

C) Ambiguity

D) Evil

7. Kayerts killing Carlier over sugar best illustrates which philosophical theory?

A) Determinism (the philosophical theory that external forces control human fates)

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