The Captain and Leggatt have an uncanny amount of similarities. The first thing that is noticed is their looks. The Captain constantly refers to Leggatt as "my double", "my other self", "my second self", "my secret self", and "my secret sharer". It is mentioned so many times that it cannot be ignored that Leggatt is analogous in many features to the Captain. They are both dark haired and equal in size. Moreover, they are around the same age. When the Captain and Leggatt first meet the Captain even states, "It was, in the night, as though I had been faced by my own reflection in the depths of a sombre and immense mirror" (Conrad 755). After Leggatt put on the Captain's sleeping suit, it was even m

If one looks at symbolism from the beginning it can also be noted that one would already now that Leggatt has an evilness to him, yet good will evolve from him. When the captain finds Leggatt, he is pale with a cadaverous glow. The paleness represents evil, yet the light coming from him can symbolize the coming of something good. The goodness, which resulted from the effects of Leggatt's dark impulses, was the Captain's maturation.

Since Leggatt and the Captain have so many characteristics the same, it helps make the Captain realize that it could be him in Leggatt's position. He sees that the daringness and confidence that Leggatt possesses, it is something that he wishes he could possess. This is a reason why the Captain is so consumed by Leggatt and by helping him. One can even say that he looks up to Leggatt since he has so much confidence in himself.

In conclusion, The captain became obsessed with Leggatt's darker side because it was the side of him he needed to discover to help him mature. While hiding Leggatt his daringness showed through, since it was a crime to be hiding him. Moreover, when he brought the ship close to shore to let Leggatt swim to safety, his confidence level rose, since he had enough confidence to believe he would not ground his ship. Conrad helps this story become universal by leaving the Captain and the ship nameless. Therefore, this novel emphasizes that each of us has a dark side that we must confront at sometime on life's path.

Through most of the story, the captain, despite his feeling of identity with Leggatt, contrasts his own deficiencies with Leggatt's strengths. After Leggatt's account of the murder and his subsequent confinement, for example, the narrator notes, "there was nothing sick

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Approximate Word count = 1183
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)