Youth (Conrad short story)

Youth ( eng Original Title Youth ) is a written by Joseph Conrad in 1898, but until 1902 in the short story collection Youth, a Narrative, and Two Other Stories published short story.

The story is about the young sailor Marlow, who competes as a second officer on his first trip to Asia. But as the ship caught fire off Java, the team is forced to go into the dinghy and row ashore, so they must have the intention to go to Bangkok to give up.

In the actual frame story tells Marlow, 20 years later some other mariners of these events.

As in other stories builds up the story on their own autobiographical experiences Conrads.

Action

The story is the fact that Marlow, who tells his friends about his experiences in the frame story 22 years later, in his youth competes as a second officer in his first trip to Asia. The ship Judea on which he hires to bring a cargo of coal to Bangkok.

However, due to a violent storm, it is already on the way to the port where the coal is to be brought on board to considerable delays, which is why the ship missed the charging period, which delayed the departure by a month. When the ship is then finally put it rammed into the night before by a steamer and badly damaged. The resulting additional repair work will cause an additional delay of 3 weeks.

Finally, the ship runs out to Bangkok, but falls short on it again in a violent storm, in which it is badly damaged. The captain is forced to repent and to repair the ship again.

After six months of repairs, the ship runs out again and passes without incident until the coast of Australia. There, however, the loaded coal by itself inflamed Although it is possible the crew to keep the fire at bay for a few days, but it eventually comes off the coast of Java in a violent explosion that shredded a large part of the deck.

In this situation, a steamboat captain offers to help, but the captain of Judea refuses because he wants to get to safety before leaving the ship as many valuables as possible. In three boats which ultimately makes the team on the way to the coast. Here, Marlow receives the command of one of the boats. From youthful ambition driven, he finally reached before the captain of the coast of Java and thus the longed Orient.

Narrative perspective

For the first time Conrad used here the figure of Marlow as narrator. Here, Marlow told in a frame story some other sailors of his previous experiences. In the frame story is a authorial narrative situation. The real story is told by Marlow in direct speech, which is why, when this is a first-person narrative, and thus a personal narrative situation.

Expenditure ( selection)

• Narratives I. The Nigger of the " Narcissus " - Youth - Heart of Darkness. Edition Maritim, Hamburg 2006, ISBN 978-389225-553-6. ( Translator: Lore Kruger et al ).
• Youth. Suhrkamp, ​​1964, ISBN 978-3518013861
• Heart of Darkness / Youth / The end of the song. Fischer, Frankfurt 2009, ISBN 978-3596901630
• Youth. A report. Fischer paperback publishing, 2001, ISBN 978-3596504220

• Literary work
• Story
• Literature (19th century)
• Literature ( English )
• Work of Joseph Conrad