Itemize Books During The Nigger of the Narcissus
| Original Title: | The Nigger of the Narcissus: A Tale of the Sea |
| ISBN: | 014018094X (ISBN13: 9780140180947) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Joseph Conrad
Paperback | Pages: 152 pages Rating: 3.66 | 1828 Users | 149 Reviews
Rendition To Books The Nigger of the Narcissus
"The were the everlasting children of the mysterious sea. Their successors are the grown-up children of a discontented earth. They are less naughty, but less innocent; less profane, but perhaps also less believing; and if they had learned how to speak they have also learned how to whine."- Joseph Conrad, The Children of the Sea
"All work that aspires, however humbly, to the condition of art should carry its justification in every line."
- Joseph Conrad, Introduction to The Children of the Sea
IN a book whose very title suggests it is rigged with the weight of race and racism, bigotry and brutality, it is strange to discover the book is really not especially about race. While the main character in The N____ of Narcissus IS black, the book's narrative (after the beginning) doesn't hardly deal with that. Race is practically the least interesting, least compelling THING about James Wait. It is hard to figure out how to talk about the book. I have no card. Nobody who isn't black has a card, so do I avoid the title. Use the alternate title (The Children of the Sea)? Do I only use N______? Do I bow to Kanye and use broke broke?
The disastrously named book is, however, fundamentally about humanity. Like most of Conrad's books, the sea provides a rhythm and a boat provides the setting for exploring the way men interact. Looking at the way men deal with life and death and the contradictions we feel towards those we love and those we hate is a taut canvas for Conrad to sew what was probably the beginning of his best period of writing. This novella was followed immediately by such masterpieces as: Heart of Darkness, Lord Jim, Typhoon, etc.
The other gem from this book is Conrad's bold introduction, which is considered one of the best "manifestos of literary impressionism". If you don't like fiction, the short introduction, all by itself, is almost worth the price of admission.
Present Out Of Books The Nigger of the Narcissus
| Title | : | The Nigger of the Narcissus |
| Author | : | Joseph Conrad |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 152 pages |
| Published | : | 1989 by Penguin Classics (first published 1897) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Classics. Literature. Novels. English Literature |
Rating Out Of Books The Nigger of the Narcissus
Ratings: 3.66 From 1828 Users | 149 ReviewsJudge Out Of Books The Nigger of the Narcissus
First, let's get the book 'title issue' out of the way. Don't come to me with your cowardly, censuring, squeamishness. If you can't handle classic novels as their authors originally wrote them, then go get yourself a job in a government ministry in a totalitarian state somewhere, get yourself a job in a small-town library where you can have Czarist powers, go get yourself a little rubber stamp and a little pot of whitewash and maybe an armband. I am reviewing this book under its original title--Narcissus has been on my list for 40 years. Conrad dominated my high school and college free reading. Let's dispense with the n-word issue. A sailing ship in the 1800s labelled people. Perhaps this book started a stereotype! Mr Wait was big and lazy. Other sailors were lazy or conniving or small-picture or too loyal.Too many years have passed for my ability to see the symbolism in this book. It's closer to the novella Youth than to the novella Heart of Darkness. I'm not sure why the title of the
Although Conrad is famous for his seafaring tales, I have generally preferred his books that are set mostly or wholly on land. This is my favorite of all of his seafaring tales that I have read so far,; it is better for example in my opinion than Typhoon or The Shadow Line, which are both good stories, but not up to Conrad's best. This is one of the best stories told from the perspective of the crew of a sailing ship that I have ever read by any author. The only one I can think of that I enjoyed
"The were the everlasting children of the mysterious sea. Their successors are the grown-up children of a discontented earth. They are less naughty, but less innocent; less profane, but perhaps also less believing; and if they had learned how to speak they have also learned how to whine."- Joseph Conrad, The Children of the Sea"All work that aspires, however humbly, to the condition of art should carry its justification in every line."- Joseph Conrad, Introduction to The Children of the Sea IN a
I did like this novella, but in comparison to his other works, I must admit that I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this one and I don't mean just the unfortunate title. In many ways it is similar to other mariner stories of his that I have read, (for example The Typhoon) and yet there is something different about it. The writing is brilliant as always, Conrad creates an interesting cast of characters, the narrative kept my interest, but for some reason my heart wasn't completely in it. I
Obviously the title alone puts it somewhat beyond the pale for a high school curriculum - even the reader with a broader experience of the evolution of racial attitudes is going to approach in hopes of a more progressive stance than s/he's likely to get.The title character is a West Indian (St. Kitts, I think) with an aristocratic demeanor and a resonant voice (one can imagine James Earl Jones in the part) who can mete out twice the disdain he receives, a sailor hired on in India for a trip back
A beautifully written book (admittedly with possible the worst title imaginable, which is why I chose this ironically censored title to review), though admittedly very dense in its prose, slowing my reading to a crawl. I found the book to be a fascinating look at how a ship in this time as a law and an entity unto itself, a tiny society, representing both the noble and the reprehensible through Conrad's skillful use of layers of meaning and allegory on their journey to the "Mother of Ships,"
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