The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad
To me, Joseph Conrad’s Secret Agent is a very
gloomy but thrilling book. Conrad brings
you into the secret life of Adolf Verloc and the undercover Proletariat group
he is a part of. It was initially a
shock to me when Verloc was asked to bomb the observatory. In my mind I thought he was going to
heroically decline the mission, instead doing something amazing, maybe like
spending the rest of the novel fighting of the Proletariat group. I knew Verloc was lazy and slightly a terrible
person but I thought just maybe he wouldn’t accept this awful mission. I was wrong though. I should have been more prepared for his
choice, knowing Conrad to be more of a dark writer, displayed in his
not-so-short story Heart of Darkness.
As Verloc continued
his mission I thought I might begin to hate him. He was attempting to destroy a public
building, and could potentially harm a number of people. Instead I found myself interested and align
with his thoughts. I felt for his him as
he weighed the options of accepting the mission. He seemed more of a human and not a terrorist
as his choice came from the desire to support his family not just wreak havoc
on the public. The secrecy and obscurity
of the Proletariat group became intriguing.
I was just as struck as Verloc was with his conflict of how to successfully
bomb the observatory. The minute he set
his sights on Stevie the feelings of hatred came on. Verloc isn’t the nicest and most humble of
characters but to use the innocent brother of his loyal wife infuriated
me. I wasn’t mad to the point of steam
pouring out of my ears and my face a beet red while quietly reading a book, but
more of a feeling of extreme disappointment in a major character.
With Verloc’s choice I think that he,
in turn, met his demise. He second
handedly killed his brother-in-law, and in return his wife kills him. Even later in the novel his wife dies.
In their deaths, those of the three major characters, Conrad sends his
message. He is warning the public that
dark acts will only lead to harm of yourself and those around you. Mr. Verloc planned to have a bomb set off, causing hysteria amonst the public, but only succeeded in getting himself and his family killed. Conrad is suggesting that terrorism is a
profession held by the same class of people that the harm is aimed at. Terrorists are real people, like Verloc, who come from real families. They aren't evil masterminds, but are weak and foolish like many other people, but still have the ability to affect anyone.
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