Brilliance Of Conrad's Descriptive Setting example essay topic

300 words
A nant Pradhan The Secret Sharer Napoleon once said, "A picture is worth a thousand words". The mark of a good author however, is the painting he can draw with words. Joseph Conrad does a brilliant job creating a picturesque setting for the tale "The Secret Sharer". While maintaining a dark and gloomy mood throughout the story, Conrad successfully tells the story of a captain's fight with his other self. Diction and word choice become key in the portrayal of the story, and when taking a closer look, one notices what an excellent job Conrad truly does. During three scenes, the diction carries the way setting the mood and characterization of everything to come.

When the captain first comes into contact with Leggatt, several descriptive adjectives, verbs, and phrases are used to set the mood for the scene. Some words include "gasp", "a headless corpse", "horrid frost-bound sensation", and "greenish cadaverous glow". These words describe the feelings and views of the captain in relation to his new discovery. The captain experienced many sensations and the phrases used to describe his feelings constantly are viewed in the most negative light. "Lightning in the sky", "phosphorescent light", and "Opaque belt of shadow on the dark glassy shimmer of the sea" are all phrases which show the brilliance of Conrad's descriptive setting. Every detail of each every aspect of the ocean is described in a manner through which darkness and evil can be sensed.

During Leggatt's explanation of the storm and the murder, the setting is once again set as dark and dreary. The opening line of this discussion sets the tone of the entire passage when Conrad uses the phrase, "at dusk", with the intent of bringing the reader.