Victory: An Island TaleIn Victory (1915) Conrad returns to the Malay Archipelago, to the setting of his first mature novel, Lord Jim, and in Axel Heyst he creates a hero who is in many ways similar to Jim, a noble altruist destroyed by his ideals. Heyst is emotionally crippled by the influence of his dead father, a sceptical philosopher who has bequeathed to Heyst an attitude to life summed up in the father's dying words: 'Look on - make no sound.' Despite this injunction Heyst allows himself to become inextricably involved with an English Cockney girl whom he rescues from Giancomo's Travelling Ladies' Orchestra and carries off to his isolated retreat on the island of Samburan. His action incurs the fatal wrath of Schomberg, the island's innkeeper, who sends in pursuit of Heyst three demonic strangers whose invasion of his island paradise leads rapidly to the novel's violent and tragic close. Victory was the first of Conrad's novels to be completed after the commercial success of Chance (1914) had transformed Conrad's fortunes and made him internationally famous. It is a more complex example of the literary form which Conrad evolved for Lord Jim: a story of action and high adventure coexisting with an exhaustive study of the psychology of the central character. |
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Page 22
... idea personally in London . He parted from his brig and disappeared from our ken ; but we heard that he had written a letter or letters to Heyst , saying that London was cold and gloomy ; that he did not like either the men or things ...
... idea personally in London . He parted from his brig and disappeared from our ken ; but we heard that he had written a letter or letters to Heyst , saying that London was cold and gloomy ; that he did not like either the men or things ...
Page 164
... idea which had entered his head . An idea must be driven out by another idea , and with Schomberg ideas were rare and therefore tenacious . " Minted gold , " he murmured with a sort of anguish . Such an expressive combination of words ...
... idea which had entered his head . An idea must be driven out by another idea , and with Schomberg ideas were rare and therefore tenacious . " Minted gold , " he murmured with a sort of anguish . Such an expressive combination of words ...
Page 310
... idea of what it was about . He stared and stared at the crowded , parallel lines . It was only when , raising his eyes for no particular reason , he saw Wang standing motionless on the other side of the table , that he regained complete ...
... idea of what it was about . He stared and stared at the crowded , parallel lines . It was only when , raising his eyes for no particular reason , he saw Wang standing motionless on the other side of the table , that he regained complete ...
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Common terms and phrases
Alfuro arms asked believe boat breath bungalow chair Chinaman Chink Conrad course dark Davidson door doorway dream eyes face faint feeling fellow felt Flores Sea Ford Madox Ford frightened gaze gentleman girl glance gleam gone governor hand head heard Heyst hotel-keeper island Java Sea jetty JOHN BATCHELOR Jones Joseph Conrad Lena light lips looked Lord Jim Martin matter mean mind Morrison moved murmured mysterious never night Norman Sherry Nostromo Number once Pedro perhaps Ricardo round Samburan Schom Schomberg schooner secretary seemed seen shadow shoulders side sight silence smile sort sound Sourabaya speak staring stood strange suddenly surprised table d'hôte talk tell Tesmans There's thing thought tion told tone Tony Tanner turned understand verandah voice walked Wang Wang's watched wharf What's whispered woman wonder words Zangiacomo