Josef Conrad's short story The Secret Sharer is a tale about a young ship captain that takes in a fugitive from another ship secretly onto his boat. I use the term fugitive lightly because although the man, Leggatt, did indeed kill one of his ship mates, I don't think that it was on purpose or with ill intent. Yet either way the Captain hides Leggatt in his room until he finally steers close enough to an island so that Leggatt is able to escape. The Secret Sharer portrays the theme of friendship between two men during a time of crisis. It is uncertain as to why the Captain risks so much in order to protect a man he barely even knows, but it is thought that the Captain see's a side of himself in Leggatt. In class it was brought up that the Captain and Leggatt might have had relations with each other, but I never caught that from reading the story. The Captain did indeed have a certain attachment to him, but I think that the Captain merely wanted to get his mind off of the stress he was enduring as a new captain with a new crew. As the title implies each of the men secretly share something with one another. The Captain offers Leggatt a place to hide and his eventual means of
escape, while Leggatt provides the Captain with a chance to prove his seamanship in the eyes of
the crew. When Leggatt escapes to the island of Koh-ring, the Captain see's his white hat floating in the sea and he exclaims that Leggatt is "striking out for a new destiny." Leggatt receives his so called "new destiny" by starting over at a new place, yet the Captain also begins a "new destiny" with his crew.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
The Secret Sharer
Josef Conrad's short story The Secret Sharer is a tale about a young ship captain that takes in a fugitive from another ship secretly onto his boat. I use the term fugitive lightly because although the man, Leggatt, did indeed kill one of his ship mates, I don't think that it was on purpose or with ill intent. Yet either way the Captain hides Leggatt in his room until he finally steers close enough to an island so that Leggatt is able to escape. The Secret Sharer portrays the theme of friendship between two men during a time of crisis. It is uncertain as to why the Captain risks so much in order to protect a man he barely even knows, but it is thought that the Captain see's a side of himself in Leggatt. In class it was brought up that the Captain and Leggatt might have had relations with each other, but I never caught that from reading the story. The Captain did indeed have a certain attachment to him, but I think that the Captain merely wanted to get his mind off of the stress he was enduring as a new captain with a new crew. As the title implies each of the men secretly share something with one another. The Captain offers Leggatt a place to hide and his eventual means of
escape, while Leggatt provides the Captain with a chance to prove his seamanship in the eyes of
the crew. When Leggatt escapes to the island of Koh-ring, the Captain see's his white hat floating in the sea and he exclaims that Leggatt is "striking out for a new destiny." Leggatt receives his so called "new destiny" by starting over at a new place, yet the Captain also begins a "new destiny" with his crew.
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