Today's lesson focused on identifying symbolism and characterizing the "Russian harlequin" as a foil to Kurtz and to the other characters engaged in colonial exploitation . Nina did well identifying the symbolic significance of the fog in the context of the confused Marlow seeking or hoping to find moral clarity when he meets Kurtz . However, as she had difficulty with some of the other examples, I demonstrated how to examine the text for clues and how to analogize objects to thematic motifs. In this regard, we analogized the lack of a fence railing at Kurtz' hut to Kurtz' lack of self-restraint that we learn likely has led to his moral decline. We then studied the descriptions of the "Russian harlequin " and noted his innocence as a foil to other characters as well as identifying his patchwork clothing as a symbol of European exploitation carving Africa into a motley patchwork of corporate colonies, Further, after noting the underlying racism in some of the passages, we studied Rudyard Kipling's very racist and famous poem "White Man's Burden" published about the same time the novel was written. Last, we reviewed Nina's study guide homework and supplemented her answers with further explanation and textual support where appropriate ,