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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Since what time does the mysterious man claim to have been in the water?

2. What did the stranger see that he decided to swim towards?

3. Where does the captain go at the very end of Part I?

4. What shape does the captain's quarters resemble?

5. What does the captain close after he and the stranger hear the noise overhead?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the chief mate characterized according to the descriptions given by the captain in the early part of the story?

2. What is particularly dangerous about the captain's plan to help Leggatt escape?

3. What characterizes the actions of the stranger at the end of the first part?

4. How does the unnamed captain comport himself towards the Sephora's skipper?

5. Why does the mysterious stranger see himself being tried by a judge and jury something of an absurdity?

6. Who finally suggests that it is necessary for Legatt to leave the ship? Why? How does the other man feel about this?

7. Why does the captain say that it is trying to be on deck, but it is also trying to be down below? What does he mean?

8. How does Legatt escape from his cabin aboard the Sephora? Does the author give any indication that things may not have happened this way?

9. Once aboard the ship, what does the captain notice about Legatt? What does he determine from Legatt's appearance and mannerisms?

10. Who are the main officers on board? How is the reader introduced to these characters? How are they described?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

This story is written in the first person from the point of view of the ship's captain. What are the other points of view an author can use to tell a story? Identify and explain them. Also, explain how Joseph Conrad uses the first person point of view to help tell his story. How would the story have changed if he would have used another point of view?

Essay Topic 2

We often think of politics in relation to governments. However, there are often workplace politics. What was the political structure of a typical ship's crew during the time period in which the story is set? What factors or situations in the book impact the ship's politics? Describe the events and their impact on the politics between ships and between members of the crew.

Essay Topic 3

In stark contrast to the unnamed captain and Leggatt, the former chief mate of the Sephora, Captain Archbold and the unnamed chief mate of the unnamed ship are similarly paralleled, but not at all similar in character. Compose a thoughtful essay which examines these two characters in relation to the whole of the story. What function, in terms of the story's plot, do the incompetent men serve? How are they alike to one another in this functionality? What is significant about their parallelism? How is this demonstrated in the text?

(see the answer keys)

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