Socratic Question examples

OK, he might not be the most handsome, but he was pretty darn smart.

Here are the examples from class. I will add to them as needed.

World Connection Question:
How would you react if you were to come upon a group of starving, dying slaves? Would you help?
If you were alive in that time period and came across the black men that had been worked to death, would you give them food like Marlow did, or do something else?
If a doctor told you people have never returned from the trip you are about to attend, would you still go?
If you were Marlow watching the chained men walk into slavery how would you react?
If you encountered the starving people Marlow encountered, what would, or wouldn’t, you do to help them out?
Traveling to Africa in the time period of the novel is like traveling to the planet today. What would be your reason to travel to an unknown place?
How would you feel toward a group of people the first time you met them, if you had previously been told they were enemies? Even if you saw them enslaved and weak?
If you come across a group of dying native laborers lying against the trees, would you interact with/help them (like how Marlow gave one native a biscuit)?

Close- Ended Question:
Marlow has a lot of respect for the chief accountant. Do you think his opinion will change toward the end of the novel? Why?
Why is the cliff being blown up if it isn’t even in the way of the railway construction?

Open-Ended Question:
Why do the British Invaders refer to the slaves as savages when they are the ones doing the brutalizing?
Why did Marlow look up to/respect the accountant?
What is the significance of the white necklace?
One of the dying workers Marlow encounters has some sort of white necklace on. What is the possible significance of this?
Why does the manager let the young black boy treat the whites like he does?
Marlow specifically points out the white European yarn tied around a native’s neck. Why is this significant?
Why does Marlow feel the need to explore?
Why does the author utilize Marlow to narrate a story when there was an original narrator in the beginning of the novel?


Universal Theme/Core:
How does the imagery of the devastated natives and landscape show how big business/civilization is horrible?

Literary Analysis Question:
Why did the author choose to have a narrator telling a story about Marlow telling the story?
Why did the author choose to have the story told from a narrator who does not tell the story?
What is the importance of the symbol darkness to the story?