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Question
What makes Bessie convinced that the young man is indeed Harry?
Solution
When Bessie swiftly asked Harry ‘Are you really Harry Hagberd’? ‘Can you prove it?’Harry replied confidently yes I can prove it Harry stuck a fancy beard on his chin and asked Bessie now say am I resembling him or not? Bessie told murmuring that ‘It’s true,’ After that, he told every possible detail to Bessel that evidence that he is only Harry like Mother nagged at me for being idle, and the old man said he would cut my soul out of my body rather than let me go to sea. Well, it looked as if he would do it too. These memory-based details told by Harry convinced Bessie that the young man was indeed Harry.
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Discuss in small groups or pairs
‘Every mental state, even madness, has its equilibrium based upon self-esteem. Its disturbance causes unhappiness’.
Discuss in small groups or pairs
Joyce’s ‘Eveline’ and Conrad’s ‘Tomorrow’ are thematically similar.
Comment on the technique used by the author to unfold the story of Captain Hagberd’s past.
Identify instances in the story in which you find streaks of insanity in people other than Hagbard. What implications do they suggest?
