Essay Questions

What is the overarching theme of this novel that unifies all the multiple storylines?

Nostromo is a novel that focuses on the storyline of its title character. What has allowed the novel to rise to the top of the list of Joseph Conrad's masterworks for many critics is the way the author integrates multiple other storylines into the narrative. The impact of the lode of silver on these characters is the unifying element. Multiple characters within multiple storylines each present a different aspect of the effect of greed upon humanity. The theme connecting all these multiple effects is the way the silver dehumanizes these characters. The disintegrating marriage of the Goulds, the suicide of Decoud, and the spiral of Nostromo himself into guilt and paranoia are all different examples of how materialism dehumanizes people.

Why is Nostromo charged with protecting the transport of silver and how does this decision ironically impact the narrative?

The entire "plot" of the novel's complicated narrative turns on the fact that it will eventually be Nostromo alone who knows what happened to the silver lode. Nostromo is chosen for the task of protecting the transport in the first place because he has earned a reputation for being "incorruptible." The central irony of the book is that Nostromo's life spirals out of control not because he is inherently corrupted by greed but because he is desperate to protect his reputation. He does not actively decide to keep the silver for himself. Nostromo only falls victim to the greed which dehumanizes him because he is overcome with the fear that his reputation for incorruptibility will be unfairly called into question.

What is the psychological force that actually drives Nostromo to keep the silver for himself and lose his reputation for being incorruptible?

Nostromo decides to keep the silver for himself after returning to the island where it had been transported for safekeeping and discovering four ingots missing. The only witness to Nostromo's incorruptibility is Martin Decoud and he is missing along with the ingots. Nostromo concludes, therefore, that he will be accused of stealing the ingots and losing his incorruptible status. The moment leading to this conclusion and the ultimate act of corruption by Nostromo occurs after he has returned to the deserted island. He had left Decoud to protect the silver in order to return to Costaguana and become a political hero of the people. Even though he is successful in dealing with the factional fighting, he does not become the hero he had expected. Nostromo returns back to the deserted island in a state of desolate disillusionment which makes him psychologically damaged to the point that he is willing to go to extreme lengths to protect that reputation for incorruptibility.