Comparing Conrads The Secret Sharer and Heart of Darkness :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Similarities in Conrads The Secret Sharer and Heart of Darkness        Joseph Conrads books, The Secret Sharer and Heart of Darkness, both deal with each of our shadowy selves.  These books also have similarities which are overwhelming. In describing the true inner self of humans, Conrad used many symbols which have become apparent in many of his novels. Conrad uses the said(prenominal) or very similar objects in many of his works.         Joseph Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness in 1899 to recount his voyages in the Congo.  Conrad hid most of his meaning in his words exploitation a form of writing known as stream of consciousness.  This made it difficult for people to find the true meaning of his work.  After round ten years, Conrad realized that he would have to get his point across in an easier to understand book.  This book was The Secret Sharer.         Both of these books include the hero lacking to meet or developing a fascination for a truly savage character.  In Heart of Darkness, Marlow is very eager to meet Kurtz. Marlow is so eager, in fact, that he eventually starts to panic when he thinks he will never meet him.  Marlow realizes that Kurtz is a very evil person, but this does not stop him from lacking to meet this incredibly remarkable person.  In The Secret Sharer the maestro saves a murderer from almost certain death without knowing what the man has done.  Later, The Captain has a discussion with the man and finds out his name is Leggatt.  Leggatt tells his story and the Captain becomes more enthralled with Leggatt ever so more.  When Leggatt tells the Captain he has committed a murder, the Captain does not throw him overboard. Instead, the Captain harbors this criminal because he feels a connection with Leggatt that he has never felt before.  In both stories the hero identifies with his evil counterpart to t he point that they actually become one in their own minds.  Conrad wanted to show the evil that exists within all of us.         The bulk of Conrads stories deal with sea voyages because of his extensive sailing as a young man.  The ship in his writing can be thought of as symbolizing the journey done life, a vessel of sorts.