Joseph Conrad : Nostromo

A story of revolt in colonial Latin America set in the imaginary republic of Costaguana (an accurate composite of Hispanic American nations), _Nostromo_ is divided into three parts. The first part, "The Silver of the Mine," introduces the reader to Charles Gould, administrator of the San Tomé silver mine, which is located in the town of Sulaco. The narrator relates the history of the mine, which first haunted Charles's father and now absorbs the attention of the inheritor. It's almost as if the mine were a person with a will of its own. Giorgio Viola, a Romantic freedom fighter who belonged to the ranks of Garibaldi, is another important figure in this first part, and the reader is allowed a glimpse of Gian' Battista Fidanza, the head longshoreman of the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, the man the locals call Nostromo. As in most traditional narratives, the first part of the novel establishes the setting and states the problem. It becomes clear from the beginning that as the administrator of a silver mine, it is Charles Gould, and not the local political authorities, who actually holds power in Sulaco. This situation inevitably causes resentment among the local population.