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The Secret Sharer Essay

Decent Essays

Cameron Davidson
Professor Dennis
LAL 250 04
10 Sept. 2015

The Secret Sharer Assignment

In The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad, we as readers are introduced to the captain and a former first mate of another ship who has been arrested for murder of another crew member, whose name is Legatt. We learn of the captain's elaborate plan to hide Legatt to avoid his capture. First, he takes Legatt, the arrested first mate, under his wing and instead of arresting him, like he should, he tells him to hide in his quarters, and throughout the tale, we see Legatt nearly being captured multiple times, such as when the captain is asked where his coat is, and one of his crewmen reply that it was in his quarters in the bathroom, to which the captain suddenly goes into a cold sweat, worrying he might be found out if Legatt is seen. Legatt and the captain appear as doubles because the captain, feeling sorry for Legatt, decides to give him clothing of his to wear for …show more content…

Walking to the taffrail, I was in time to make out, on the very edge of a darkness thrown by a towering black mass like the very gateway of Erebus---yes, I was in time to catch an evanescent glimpse of my white hat left behind to mark the spot where the secret sharer of my cabin and of my thoughts, as though he were my second self, had lowered himself into the water to take his punishment: a free man, a proud swimmer striking out for a new destiny. (Conrad 193)

What does this mean?: In short, the captain remembers the person who was in his cabin, Legatt, and since he was a former first mate, he is similar to the captain. The last line signifies that Legatt has moved on to a new life. Throughout the story, we see the captain refer to Legatt as his second self, or double, but I think that the reason that he calls him double is because he's looking at himself and who he used to

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