The Shadow Line
by Joseph Conrad
Conrad's autobiographical short story about a young man under his first command as a sea captain. A series of crises is proving incredibly difficult for his new government, as the sea is curiously clogged and the crew is weakened by feverish malaria. When the fear of the first comrade convinces many that the ship follows and curses the evil spirit of the previous captain, the young man has to cope with his prejudices and a noticeable lack of such necessary drugs. At a decisive moment in the life of a young man, the ambiguous line separating an inexperienced child from a mature man becomes absolutely clear, the "Line of Shadows" is crowned with intense existence, forcing responsibility and threatening with principles in the study of masculinity.
