"The Secret Sharer" is told from the point of view of the captain of the ship. One of the main themes we found in the story is Leggart as a reflection of the captain.
The captain is the new commander of his ship and frequently refers to himself as a stranger among his crew. Leggart, the other stranger on the ship, quickly becomes the captain's mirror. The captain and Leggart have many similarities, almost as if they are the same person.
From the very beginning, the narrator says "In a moment he had concealed his damp body in a sleeping-suit of the same grey-stripe pattern as the one I was wearing and followed me like my double on the poop." This is the first instance of mirroring between the two and the similarities continue. Throughout the story, he refers to the man that has come from the Sephora, Leggart, as his double over and over again. The repetition of him as his double shows how connected the captain feels to him. He even covers for Leggart when the captain from the Sephora comes aboard to look for the fugitive.
One difference seems to be their attitudes on the sea. The captain is new and unsure of his position while Leggart is determined and swam for miles to save himself rather then give up and drown. As Leggart becomes more shut away in the captains cabin and less visible to the crew, the captain becomes more assertive. It is almost as if the captain gets his strength and sense of self from the weakening of Leggart. He even gives his first official order and watches it become completed, which makes the crew see him with more respect. While these characters are meant to mirror each other on the surface, their personalities seem opposite and the captain learns from the experience of Leggart.
-Mia & Rachel
I think that your analysis is very good. The captain definately learns something from Leggatt. The captain knows that he gets no respect from the crew. This is especially shown when he says, "but what I felt most was my being a stranger to the ship," (167). It's almost beneficial for the captain that Leggatt ends upon their ship. Without him the captain may have never gained the respect of his crew.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the two are similar reflections of one another. While each of them obviously have different strengths and weaknesses, they share a common thought process. The young captain sees he would have felt the same way of the chief mate of the Sephora. On page 180 he says,"...I,too, was not the sort that would have done for the chief mate of a ship like the Saphora. I had no doubt of it in my mind." The captains ability to relate to Leggatt refrains him from turning Leggatt in to the other captain. It kind of goes to show that people are willing to step outside their comfort zone to assist others with whom they share similarities.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with the both of you. What I found most surprising was the fact that the central figures (the captain and the ship) are nameless throughout the story. Looking at it as a whole instead of just a particular story, i get a sense that the captain is every man and the ship is the journey that every man must partake. It shows that every one has two sides: good and evil as well as strengths and weaknesses but at some point the sides meet in the middle and are confronted about who we really are.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that the captain and Leggatt are the same person, maybe supporting what I said earlier,the captain portrayed the evil side and Leggatt,the good side. It may be pretty far fetched but this is what I thought while reading it!
I think that Leggatt and the captain are more than reflections of each other but that Leggatt represents a part of the Captain that he didn't know he had. The captain states that he is unsure of his command abilities and is a "Stranger" on the ship. Then it seems that Leggatt is almost created for the captain when he rises from the sea naked. In the process of hiding and then ensuring Leggatt's escape the captain is able to become more and more "captain-like", eventually proving, with the help of the hat he gave Leggatt, his seamanship in the eyes of his crew at the end of the story.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all,this story was way too long!!
ReplyDeleteI also agree that the captain sees Leggart as his double and immediately creates this bond with the stranger. I find it very strange that the captain and Leggart seem to be trying to reach some type of equilibrium. In heat transfers, the hotter object transfers heat to the cooler object until some type of equilibrium is reached (Sorry for the Chemistry reference, I think in Chemistry terms sadly). In this story, Leggart starts out as the authoritative, dedicated one and the captain is unsure of his new position in power. As time progresses, Leggart is hiding in the captain's room while the captain is out barking orders. The attitudes of the two men has switched at this point, we can see this on page 178 "...and then I rang for the steward, and facing him boldly,directed him to tidy up my stateroom while I was having my bath-and be quick about it."
Another interesting thing was the reference to religion on page 174. In the middle paragraph Leggart says "She would have only been too glad to have me out of the ship in any way. The 'brand of Cain' business, don't you see. I was ready enough to go off wandering on the face of the earth -and that was price enough to pay for an Abel of that sort." Then later in the story Leggart chooses to be naked after he jumps off the Sephora. Maybe an Adam and Eve type thing ? I'm not sure if this is significant or if this means anything, but just something interesting that I noticed!
I absolutely agree with your analysis. The captain is, by his own admission, a reflection of Leggart and vice versa.
ReplyDeleteGoing beyond this, I found it interesting that the captain, who feels like a stranger to his crew, makes no effort to acquaint himself with his men. The two crewmen who he mentions most are the chief mate and and the steward. In an attempt to protect Leggart, he further estranges himself from his subordinates by acting queerly. He is continually short with the steward, whom he fears will stumble upon Leggart and he is mistrustful of the chief mate who he sees as only a pair of eyes and whiskers.
His decision to push the boat close to shore upset his crew and made him look inexperienced and a little incompetent. In the process of relating to Leggart and keeping him hidden, the captain is actually doing long term damage to his relationship with his crew. He will never see Leggart again, but he and the crew will be together for quite a while. So it seems that the captain has made his position as a stranger on the ship permanent.