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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 unites the men through their struggles to make it to shore safely, James Wait triggers disorder and hostility aboard ship. Throughout the novel, Wait serves as a catalyst that evokes powerful emotions among the seamen and causes them to react in various ways to his mysterious presence onboard.
In the very beginning of the novel, Wait makes his presence aboard ship well known as he articulates his name with an unreserved air of confidence. He asks the men to help him carry his luggage in somewhat of a condescending manner, such that the crew is unable to refuse. However, not all of the crew remains tolerant of the new seaman on board. Wait’s first fit of thunderous coughing wakes up the sleeping men, who proceed to
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When Jimmy crudely states his disgust with the crewmembers, Singleton, who had lived a life unconcerned with human sentiments, emerges from his shell of passivity and openly addresses him. 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.
During the storm, the crewmembers sympathize with Jimmy by associating their own survival with his. So [they] hated him, and passed him carefully from hand to hand” (p 45).
Because Wait flaunts his illness to the crew, yet refuses all medicines, the crew wavers between pitying Jimmy and suspecting him of cheating his way out of work. The narrator depicts Jimmy as “the tormentor of all our moments; … was worse than a nightmare” (p 27). The narrator reveals that “[they] all lovingly called him Jimmy, to conceal [their] hate of his accomplice” (p 22). However, both Jimmy and the rest of the crew are fighting against the sea. Not only does the seaman who had usually disregarded all turmoil become aggravated by Wait, but in fact, most of the crew can no longer tolerate Wait as well. “As for the crew, they [care] nothing for Wait as a human being, [hate] him in fact, but [accept] him as a precious token” (p226). “Are you dying?” he asks Wait.
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