Moby Dick compared to Secret Sharer
In the novel The Secret Sharer, by Joseph Conrad, a man at sea struggles with loneliness and moral dilemma. However, the narrator has saved himself on multiple levels by the end of the novel. His confidence grows as he learns about himself, as well as when he learns of Leggatt, a man much like him. Throughout the novel, Conrad uses symbolism and the thoughts of the protagonist in order to suggest that one must know oneself in order to possess a life with motivation and confidence in oneself. In Herman Melville's "Moby Dick," the story speaks about a mans journey to find a whale who he believes represents the evil of the world. The book itself is a clear representation of the American society, its values, goals and inhabitants, as well as numerous other issues that Melville sought to challenge or come to terms with. In the "The Secret Sharer," we can see the character of the Captain change from an insecure person to a confident leader because of the experience with the Secret Sharer. At first, the Captain felt reluctant to give orders for fear of what his crew thought of him. The Captain then goes through a transformation experience, when he meets his "double," a man named Leggatt. After meeting Leggatt, a stowaway that commi
tted murder, the Captain changes into a self-assured person. Through Leggatt, the Captain gets to know himself better and is no longer a stranger to himself and his crew. Shortly after meeting the Secret Sharer, the captain is feeling more confident and starts to give orders. When it is time for Leggatt to leave the ship for dry land, the Captain risks the lives of his crew in order for his "double" to escape. He is also not reluctant on giving orders, he no longer cares what his crew thinks about him. In Moby Dick Ahab continuously finds himself seeking to challenge his work, his personal life and the opinions of the people around him. Personally, I view Ahab not as an unstable personality, but rather as a product of the life that he lives. His "rise to stardom" has in turn led Ahab to personal misery. Devoting the best years of his life to work, he has isolated himself from the rest of humanity. Ahab's meals with his officers are a direct symbol of such isolation. The rigid discipline Ahab is forced to maintain as a captain severs his ties of social contact. It is this anguish over the years spent whaling and over the bitterness of his reward that Ahab's malcontent boils over and becomes an obsession. The loss of his limb is merely the final straw that pushes Ahab in pursuit of Moby Dick and later his death. Conflict is portrayed in "The Secret Sharer" where the captain a young man who only a fortnight before the story begins receives his first command of a ship. He has been on the ship only two weeks, at the beginning of the novel he feels like he is not only a "stranger to the ship" but also a "
Some common words found in the essay are:
Moby Dick, Secret Sharer, Dick Ahab, White Whale, Sephora Melville's, Basically Pequod, Transcendentalism Moby, Sharer Captain, Conrad Leggatt, Joseph Conrad, secret sharer, moby dick, secret sharer captain, sharer captain, insecure person, american society, stranger ship, evil ahab, leg white, dick ahab, white whale, moby dick ahab,
Approximate Word count = 1088
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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