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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where is Mr. Verloc's shop located?

2. Who is usually privileged to sit in the horsehair armchair in the parlor?

3. Following the meeting of Mr. Verloc with his Red Committee friends, what does Mrs. Verloc do?

4. Where did Mr. Verloc live before he got married?

5. While speaking with the Professor, Ossipon gains information that leads him to believe who was blown up in the Greenwich Park explosion?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the professor describe as his goal and what does it take to achieve it?

2. Why is it Mr. Verloc is able to leave his business in the hands of his brother-in-law in the morning?

3. How is the appearance of Winnie Verloc's mother described?

4. What is Ossipon's view of Mrs. Verloc's sibling?

5. What description of the explosive device he carries on his person does the professor provide Ossipon?

6. How does Ossipon learn it was Mr. Verloc who obtained explosives from the professor, and what is his reaction?

7. What problems are faced by Winnie Verloc's lone, younger sibling?

8. Where has Mrs. Verloc's sibling been during the Red Committee's meeting and what has the reaction been?

9. What considerations is Ossipon reflecting upon regarding his next decision at the conclusion of Chapter 4?

10. Describe the task undertaken by Chief Inspector Heat and what he views as a critical item he locates?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Toodles, the secretary of state's private secretary, only appears in two chapters. He is initially introduced in Chapter 7, when the assistant commissioner first reports to the secretary of state, and again in Chapter 10, when the assistant commissioner returns unexpectedly early to make his report to the secretary of state. Examine how the author uses this new character, Toodles, and both encounters he has with the assistant commissioner in relaying his tale.

Essay Topic 2

Mr. Verloc fears the consequences of failing to satisfy his superiors. Consider in detail this and other instances of Conrad's use of the theme of fear in his story.

Essay Topic 3

In Chapters 9-13, Conrad introduces into the plot numerous ironic twists of fate involving the Verlocs and Ossipon. Please describe these twists and the irony involved. Examine how Conrad uses any other ironies within his tale.

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