The Nigger of the "Narcissus"

Jan 2006     A Christmas gift from my loving, book-addict Mother.

Well well well. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. I'd better explain myself now though; I read, ( a couple of years ago,) the Heart of Darkness and the Secret Shearer, two other short novels by Conrad. And I found them long, dull, and entirely uninteresting. So, before opening this book at all, I was not expecting much of it.

Then I opened the book, and read the four page preface to this tale. -And became so discouraged, and disappointed, that I put the book down after the four pages, and didn't read another thing for the whole evening. (This is a Rare, a Very Rare thing with me.) The style that he used was so... obtuse. He was writing about the most abstract, unclear, meaning of writing, and the worth of a novel in modern times, (110 years ago,) and it was all TOO Bloody Impossible to understand. I couldn't make myself read another word, after those four pages.

A couple days later, when I had worked up the courage to start with the story it's self, I was then ever so pleased to find it... a Story; It introduced some characters, and the time it was set in, and the ship which would sail. And it did all this in nice, easy, pleasant prose, which were clear to me. It was not a Gripping tale, but it was interesting. So, I read on. I think it then took only four or five days, to read the 130 pages that make up the tale.

As the story progressed, it became increasingly interesting. About half way through, I crossed the point where I would have been disappointed, if I'd lost the book, and never could finish it. (With his Heart of Darkness, I would have Rejoiced if I'd lost it. And in this book, before I reached the point, I would have felt indifferent.) But, now, I have trouble writing about the tale, (Although you wouldn't know it, looking at the last four paragraphs I've got down.)

The problem for me, is defining what sort of book this is. It is perfectly set up to reveal something about the nature of mankind, or our hidden desires, or our souls. It could have ever so easily portrayed a strong moral. But... I can't see it doing any of those things. There is No judgement made of the people in the tale. And I don't feel that the reader is invited to make his/her own, either. We can think to ourselves, "this man was a good person." and "that one was naughty, but had a good heart," and "this one learned something... it seems." But... one can't be certain of these decisions. -To better explain, I think I should say that we're free to make all these conclusions, But at the end, it seems that the conclusions about people's characters just doesn't matter; It's quite irrelevant.

The more I think of it, the more I feel that this... has no moral. It has no theme. It makes me feel exactly like this: That there's an old seaman. And he has all these... tales he can tell. Not proper tales, but just... segments of his life. He can tell about the time he went to a small port in China. Or tell about the worst storm he's ever been in. Or tell about the time he was nearly in a mutiny. Or... about the time there was a nigger on board the ship Narcissus.

That's what it feels like to me: just an old man, relating the things that happened on that one journey. He doesn't expect it to Mean anything; it's just a collection of events that once happened. There's nothing then to be understood about the story. It's just... a relation of facts.

So, how would this be described as a writing style then? Adventure? Perhaps so. I prefer to think of it simply as a tale from the seas. I'll leave it at that.

Some other Stories of the sea -all together in the second half of the Nigger of the Narcissus.   all by Joseph Conrad

Jan 2006     A Christmas gift from my loving, book-addict Mother.

Typhoon

Well, I'm not in an inspired mood, so I don't have much to say. Also, it wasn't exactly an inspiring story, so there's not much possible TO say. The characters were well formed, realistic... (if unusual,) and the setting was well portrayed. But can I say the story interested me? Hmmm.... No.

OK then, Why not?

The adventure side of it, (a ship unexpectedly getting caught in a typhoon,) didn't... hook me. The human side; the way that the situation displays the personalities of the people, and their deepest selves... just didn't interest me, somehow. Their weaknesses, discoveries, and hopes -didn't speak to my own personality.

I truly can't think of a way of better understanding my lack of enthusiasm for it. And that's ... that.

Amy Foster

Now, this story was of much more interest to me. It doesn't take place on a ship, but in a port town, where the Sea is just... a part, or the background to all the lives. The characters interested me, and brought out my empathy, (Which they failed to do in Typhoon.) Also, it appealed to my liking of anthropology, (that means study of humans and human culture, doesn't it? It's meant to mean that.) -In the story you see, a menial little peasant from the mountains of Prussia, who's been convinced to become a settler in America, becomes shipwrecked, and finds himself in this town in England. -Where he is taken to be a half animal, fully mad, lunatic.

So, there's a fair part about his adapting to his incomprehensible surroundings, and a good deal of... our seeing the differences of the culture he came from, and the one he ended up in. (And I suppose that's something that I can especially relate to.)

Again, all of the people were believable, (and a few were rather original.) And it was well told. Yes. I liked it.

Falk: A Reminiscence

Not as good as Amy Foster, but better than Typhoon. First, it was the depth of the characters that interested me; I wanted to know more about each one of them. Then, near to the end, it's the situation that becomes most interesting, and I wanted to know what would happen. Then, the interest changed back to the characters again, and I was curious to see how they would all react. (As well as finding out more about what Had happened once, before.)

So, it wasn't much less interesting than Amy Foster, I guess. It was interesting in a different way though.

Something I'm pondering now though, is the reaction to cannibalism which is in this story. (Necessary cannibalism, when people are starving to death.) I wouldn't imagine that our views on the subject have changed much in the last few hundred years -at least! So then, am I just very liberal, and accept that when done out of necessity, it's not a monstrous act. (In the story, the reaction is VERY strong against it: to the point of "Get out of my sight! How dare you even speak to me! You Monster!!!") Or... perhaps we have now a more relaxed view of ourselves;

I mean that in the story, the man could have been thinking himself a Gentleman, and especially respectable. So, although his true, inner reaction was the same as ours now would be, he feels it required, due to Social reasons, to react more strongly. Has this made any sense?

Tomorrow

This was another tale of a port town, and some people of the sea. It was... a tragedy. It was just... one -scene, as it were. It doesn't tell the whole story. It's like a portrait. It tells of one... Occurrence in an old father's life. And it was beautiful. And well told. And tragic, tragic, tragic.

It was much to do, of course, with his personality, and his way of life. (And the way of life of the sweet, honest girl next door.)

Ah HA! I know what it is! It's a perfect Short Story. (26 pages long.) That's what it is.

Anyhow, it's all to do with the social side, and the personalities of the people in it. And I could not help shedding a few tears at the end, when the hopes of the father are thrown away, and the suddenly discovered hopes of the girl, are crushed. (Don't read the rest of this paragraph now, if you plan on reading the book.) And we see that the son could never fit at all. The hopes they had were all impossible. -And these were the hopes that I too had at the end: because I wanted a nice, happy ending to the tale.

Hmm. It was... a very strong ending to the book.