Nigger Of Narcissus

An Analysis of James Wait in Conrad’s Nigger of the “Narcissus” Joseph Conrad’s Nigger of the “Narcissus” depicts the homeward voyage of seamen navigating the ship “Narcissus”. James Wait, an African American who is last to board the ship in Bombay Harbour, immediately incites controversy among the other seamen. His character is one that arouses controversy among the crew because nobody knows whether or not Wait is physically ill. Unlike the storm, which …

…comes to represent human “blackness”, which tests the crew’s patience as well as their morals (p 225). In the end, the crew discovers that he was not simply avoiding work, but rather that he was actually sick, and had little will to live. The story is one of human interaction, and revolves around the crew’s morals, and how they are able to incorporate them into their own lives during times of crisis. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**