It's a PPT on Joseph Conrad's 'The Secret Sharer' for academic purpose.

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3. Joseph Conrad The Secret Sharer
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4.  The Secret Sharer is a novelette by Joseph Conrad.
 It was first published in the August and September 1910
issues of Harper’s Magazine.
 It contains altogether 16,650 words.
 It narrates the story of a young captain’s first command
of a ship.
 Both the captain and the ship were anonymous.
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5. Joseph Conrad
(3rd December, 1857 -3rd August,1924.)
Joseph Conrad was a Pole. He wrote in
English. He is considered one of the
greatest English novelists, though he
could not speak English fluently.
He wrote stories/novels mainly on nautical
settings i,e he wrote mainly on the sea
life and the problems associated with it.
His prose is distinct in its stylistic merits.
He brought non-English sensibilities in
English prose literature.
Modern and even postmodern
characteristics abound in his stories and
novels. For example the Concept of
Double OR the theme of
‘Doppelganger’ in ‘The Secret Sharer’ is
a postmodern characteristic.
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6. The story of The Secret Sharer is
based on a real incident. In
the 1880s, a mate aboard the
Cutty Sark killed an
insubordinate sailor during
an altercation in which the
insubordinate sailor
eventually died. Like Leggatt,
the killer who escapes
punishment and befriends the
story's narrator, the murderer
escaped his punishment by
swimming to a new destiny.
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7. The Secret Sharer possesses only six characters. They are—
i.The nameless Captain (The hero cum narrator of the story).
ii.Leggatt (The escaped Convict and the captain’s Double).
iii.Archbold,the captain of the ship Saphora.
iv.The Second Mate.
v.The Chief Mate .
vi.The Steward.
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8. Context:-
The incidents narrated in the story took place in an
unnamed ship which was under the command of
a newly appointed inexperienced Young Captain.
He took the charge of the ship only a fortnight
before the voyage.
The ship was passing through the Gulf of Shiam
(Thailand).
They saw the mast of a neighbouring cargo ship
named ‘Saphora’. It was carrying Coal to New
South wells.
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9. The anonymous captain Leggatt
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10. Plot
The young captain assumes the command of his ship
only a fortnight before the action of the story begins.
Because of this, he is doubtful, untried, and feels
himself alienated and at the mercy of the crew.
As a goodwill gesture toward the crew, who have been
working hard the last two days, the Captain
announces that he will take the anchor watch until
1:00 a.m., something usually not done by a ship's
captain.
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11.  During the anchor watch, quite by chance he
rescues leggatt who had fled from Sephora after
killing a an insolent ship-mate for self defense.
 The Captain takes him into his stateroom and
further learns that Leggatt was kept under
arrest.
 The Captain feels an unexplainable affinity to
Leggatt. He often refers him as "my double" or
"second self.“And resolves to save him at any
cost.
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12.  The Sephora's captain arrives in his search for the
escaped Leggatt. He searches the ship, but Leggatt
remains hidden because of the tactful
maneuverings of the Captain.
 However, it became difficult on his part to keep
leggatt hidden in his ship for a long time.
 Leggatt tells the Captain that he must maroon him
amongst some islands, because he doesn’t like to
face punishment.
 The captain agrees reluctantly.
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13.  The Captain orders the crew to steer the ship close
to the shore of the island Koh-ring.
 Defying the protest of the crew, he steers the ship
very close to the shore and thus provides Leggatt
a chance to swim to safety.
 Leggatt jumps off the deck and swims to safety,
the Captain successfully maneuvers the ship out
of danger, and the story ends with the captain’s
wishes of Leggatt’s luck in finding his "new
destiny.
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15. A PPT by Indranil Sarkar
Sapatgram College,Sapatgram
Assam, India
Contact: 9859945270
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