The workings of men's minds have always existed of some plane of duality. On one hand, there is the persona that we set forth. Men strive piously for goals of acceptance; of good; of justice; of morality. However there lies dormant within the heart of man a beast; a savage "heart of darkness" that, from time and circumstance, rears its head for all to behold. In The Secret Sharer, author Joseph Conrad explores one man's journey into this self-discovery through the narrator's point of view, symbolism, imagery, and setting. He proves when we learn to embrace all aspects of our character; even those that may prove dangerous, humans truly discover their beings as a whole.
Conrad's settings are perhaps among the most exotic utilized in literature, yet they serve not only as places for action, but they also drive the story. The novella takes place on an unnamed ship in Siam. (Conrad keeps both the ship and the captain unnamed in order to give the novella's situations a sense of universality) The cramped bowels of a ship offer the perfect isolated setting. Having no where to run, the Captain is forced to understand his issues of personal inadequacies, the risk involved with harboring the fugitive Leggat, and some latent aspects of his character. Conrad transitions from "gliding irresistibly" (58) on a midnight sea to taking into account the sordid details of a "cramped tiny" (48) bathroom within which Leggat must reside as a convict would. Conrad paints a dual picture of a beautiful prison where man is trapped by the sea. By utilizing imagery within the form of the setting, the audience is filled with a sense of inescapability and beauty simultaneously; it is this dynamic that drive the character interactions between Legatt and the captain. .
Masterful use of a first-person limited point of view conveys character dynamic and self-discovery in a way, which only it can do. By seeing the thoughts of the captain, readers can follow not only his initial perceptions, but also his progression though his interaction with Legatt.