T.S. Schwarz “The Secret Sharer” Essay Prompts
11th Honors 2011
Directions: You will write one well-developed five-paragraph essay on one of the
following two essay possibilities. I will announce the chosen topic with fifteen minutes
left in class on the first day of the “TSS” Examination. Be sure to prepare for both, in
which you will be required to refer to specific instances and scenes from the text.
Choice #1: According to German folklore, every living being has a doppelgänger—an
exact, but usually invisible, spirit double. Legend has it that seeing one’s doppelgänger is
a sign of approaching death. In literature, the doppelgänger is often a device for revealing
a character’s unconscious desires or conflicts. In “The Secret Sharer,” the murderer
Leggatt is the captain’s very real doppelgänger. The captain and his double, Leggatt, are
similar in many ways and different in others. Comment upon either the similarities or
differences (NOT BOTH) between them and discuss the significance(s).
Choice #2: Analyze the major symbols in “The Secret Sharer” such as the hat, the
scorpion, the suits, or the many other notable symbols and discuss their significance in
terms of the story's theme and context, as you see it.