To Be, Or Not To Be
According to Merrion-Webster Inc. Dictionary, a doppelgänger is a double, an often ghostly or evil counterpart to a character. It comes from the German language, doppel- double + -gänger goer. It might be asked, “What does a doppelgänger have to do with a paper on Joseph Conrad?” The answer is a lot, especially if Conrad’s “The Secret Sharer” is being discussed. In this short story, the two characters, the captain and Leggatt, share many similarities, as well as differences. When comparing the similarities and differences, they can be used to show the duality between the captain and Leggatt. Conrad used Leggatt as a doppelgänger to help the captain come ...
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the occurrences aboard the Cutty Sark for that particular story.
“The Secret Sharer” is a psychological masterpiece that dramatizes the act of sympathetic identification with an outlaw. Also, it deals with the achievement of self-mastery when the secret self is exorcised (Graver 150). In it, the character Leggatt is the embodiment of the captain’s personality; yet, he is not any higher or lower than the captain. He’s only different. He is one side, to a double-sided coin.
In the story, the captain of a ship discovers a man named Leggatt.
Leggatt had committed murder on the Sephora, on which he was first mate. Not wanting to face a trial, he escaped. The captain and Leggatt form an immediate bond (Conrad 702). Comparing the two, they are both of the same stature, same background. The captain even refers to Leggatt as his “double”, “other self”, or “secret sharer” almost 40 times (Graver 152). Conrad specifically ...
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the person he confides in. Because of his personality, the captain benefited greatly from Leggatt. He inspired him to act boldly and assert himself. It was something the captain needed to be a good commander. The captain realizes that he can and does measure up to the “ideal conception of ones own personality that every man sets for himself secretly” (Graver 153).
It is evident that when Conrad wrote this short story, he had the idea of a doppelgänger in mind. His repetitive use of certain terms only adds to the conclusion that Leggatt is indeed the reflection of the captain’s self. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t exist in his own right, it just ...
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"To Be, Or Not To Be." Essayworld.com. January 8, 2006. Accessed April 26, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/To-Be-Or-Not-To-Be/39288.
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