History Literature / Nostromo

''Nostromo'' is considered to be one of Conrad's greatest works, and often considered his best by critics and other writers, such as Creator/FScottFitzgerald and Creator/WilliamFaulkner. It has been adapted for television by the BBC with Creator/ColinFirth as Charles Gould, Claudio Amendola as Nostromo, Creator/ClaudiaCardinale as Theresa Viola, and Creator/AlbertFinney as Dr. Monygham. It was also invoked as the name of Ripley's iconic spaceship in Creator/RidleyScott's ''Film/{{Alien}}''.

* TheCaper: Charles Gould sends Nostromo and Martin Decoud on one. When Montero's soldiers are arriving at the capital, he tasks them to store all the silver in a Cargo-Lighter ship and sell its shares so as to deny the coming revolution of any monetary supplies. WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong [[spoiler:Well, there's a stowaway, PoorCommunicationKills, and rough seas which force Nostromo to jump overboard leaving Decoud to crash the lighter on an island]]. %% they're not stealing anything, just hiding a treasure?

* BigBad: General Montero, the leader of the uprising. Though [[spoiler:he ends up getting killed unceremoniously offscreen, so more of a DiscOneFinalBoss. The real big bad is perhaps Charles Gould, though Nostromo, the book's hero never gets to go into opposition with him]].
* TheCaper: Charles Gould sends Nostromo and Martin Decoud on one. When Montero's soldiers are arriving at the capital, he tasks them to store all the silver in a Cargo-Lighter ship and sell its shares so as to deny the coming revolution of any monetary supplies. WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong [[spoiler:Well, there's a stowaway, PoorCommunicationKills, and rough seas which force Nostromo to jump overboard leaving Decoud to crash the lighter on an island]].

* ColdBloodedTorture: Not surprising in a politically unstable country ruled by shifting military dictatorships

** Doctor Monygham and Charles Gould's father suffered this as well under a former regime.

* DudeWheresMyReward: What also turns Nostromo bitter. His efforts in foiling the revolution are genuinely heroic, but in the end he's treated by the ruling class as just a useful tool.

* HeroOfAnotherStory: While Nostromo ultimately is TheHero of the story, he is fairly peripheral for most of the book. The first section often consists of brief vignettes portraying Costaguana's society through various characters in different social strata.

* LandOfOneCity: Costaguana is stated to be a large South American state, but most of the action takes place in Sulaco which considers itself separate from the conflict across the country. [[spoiler:After suppressing the Montrero uprising, Sulaco becomes a full city state, with the wealthy silver mines kept away from the hands of the other Costaguanans]].

* MetallicMotifs [=/=] MineralMacGuffin: The silver from Charles Gould's San Tome mine is often invoked as a theme for {{Greed}} and overall corruption. The mine we are told comes from the mountains and is exploited crudely and the wealth and business it generates creates turmoil in the country.

* StrawNihilist: Martin Decoud.

* WorkingClassHero: Nostromo was intended by Conrad to be this, and he is one of the most realistic and believable examples in fiction at the time.
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: Averted. While Conrad exposes the greed and venality of Costaguana's elite (including the owners of the silver mines), he is even less sympathetic towards the hypocritical leaders of "liberation movements" such as Guzman's dicatorship, seeing radical political movements as little more than opportunities for brutal or manipulative rabble-rousers to acquire wealth and power.

* ColdBloodedTorture: [[spoiler:Senor Hirsh, a Jewish fur trader and the stowaway on Nostromo's lighter,]] is submitted to this by Colonel Sotillo.

* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Dr. Monygham is hopelessly in love with Emilia Gould, wife of mine operator Charles Gould. While she likes and respects him, she doesn't reciprocate his romantic feelings. Nor would either Monygham's sense of propriety or Emilia's allow them to do anything about it even if the feelings were mutual.