The narrator's journey in The Secret Sharer

                The narrator becomes more bold and certain as a leader of the ship. I think he also becomes a little more vulnerable. In the beginning of the novella, he seems very apprehensive with his new role as Captain of the ship. He really does not have a lot of confidence in himself nor does he really make an effort to get to know his crew. However when he meets Leggatt, his whole demeanor starts to change. In a way, Leggatt is like the catalyst of the story. He is so bizarre; everything he says is completely odd yet the narrator hangs on every word he says. When he allows Leggatt to stay in his room, it shows that he is taking a risk. When his steward asks him close his port, the narrator lies to him as his face is "redening" (35). It is interesting that so quickly he is willing to trust Leggatt and protect him after meeting him a few minutes ago and barely opens up to his crew who he has been at sea with for a long time. He also starts to become more secretive, especially when he meets the skipper of the Sephora and he explicitly yells where he is going to take him on the ship so that Leggatt knows not to move. He announces every room they are about to go into like, "Nice little saloon, isn't it?" and "This is my bathroom" (42) and "And now we'll have a look at my stateroom"(43).  He is taking a lot of chances with hiding Leggatt and in a way these are making him more vulnerable as well. He lets Leggatt sleep with him in his bed and they would whisper to each other as they fall asleep. He would bring him food and let him have preserves that were kept in his stateroom. When Leggatt finally departs, with the help of the narrator, he gives him his white sailor hat. It is almost like Leggatt has literally become the other captain once he is given the hat. The narrator makes a substantial change of character both in terms of being a leader, but also being human and sharing your life and living with another person.