How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
It was this maddening course of being shouted at, checked without rhyme or reason, arbitrarily chased out of my cabin […] that accounted for the growing wretchedness of his expression. (2.83)
The steward of the captain's ship has a tough task. For starters, he has no clue that the captain is trying to conceal a fugitive in his cabin, so he (the steward) is constantly getting bossed around with no apparent logic to all of the orders. This lack of consistency eventually leaves the steward feeling overworked and completely unsure of himself. By the end of the book, he's practically insane with confusion. Poor guy.
Quote #5
I think I had come creeping quietly as near insanity as any man who has not actually gone over the border. (1.100)
In the first half of the book, the captain tells us straight up that he thinks he's coming close to insanity. Now he thinks he hasn't quite gone over the edge, but that doesn't mean we have to take his word for it.
Quote #6
It would not be true to say I had a shock, but an irresistible doubt of his bodily existence flitted through my mind. (2.100)
Even the captain has to wonder sometimes whether Leggatt is an actual person. After all, how could he do such a good job to avoid detection by other people on the ship? It's not like the thing is huge enough for a person to hide forever…unless that person were invisible . (Disclaimer: We at Shmoop are not actually suggesting Leggatt has an invisibility superpower, we just think it would be really cool if he did.)