The narrator of "The Secret Sharer" —the Captain—pretty much opens the story with a cry for help. He makes it very clear that he's lonely onboard his new ship, where all of the crew already know one another really well and he's a newbie trying to earn their respect. It doesn't help that he's really young and inexperienced for a captain, and he doesn't know how he got the job to begin with. It's this brutal sense of loneliness and isolation that has led many readers to think that the fugitive Leggatt is a product of the captain's imagination. But we'll leave final judgment on that one to you, dear Shmooper.
Questions About Isolation
- Check out the opening paragraphs of this story. What is the first hint you can find that suggests the captain is lonely?
- Do you think the captain has a good reason to feel isolated, or is he too self-conscious when it comes to what his crew thinks of him?
- How does Leggatt's sense of isolation compare to the captain's? Is it more or less justified in your eyes? Why?
- How do you think the captain of this story will fare emotionally once Leggatt is out of his life? Will he go back to the same old loneliness, or will things with his crew be different?
Chew on This
In "The Secret Sharer," Conrad shows us that isolation is usually just in our heads.
In "The Secret Sharer," we learn that being a good leader is always a lonely job.