Amy Foster

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"Amy Foster" is a short story composed in 1901 by Joseph Conrad. It was first published in the Illustrated London News (December 1901), and was collected in Typhoon and Other Stories (1903).

Yanko Goorall, a Polish immigrant en route for America (his name, in Polish spelled "Janko Góral," means "Johnny Highlander"), is shipwrecked on the shores of Kent, England. Speaking no English, he is treated as a madman and is whipped, stoned, beaten and imprisoned by the locals. Eventually he is given a job by Mr. Swaffer, learns to speak English, and falls in love with Amy Foster, an English girl who shows him kindness. They are married and have a son.

Several months later, Yanko falls ill and begins to rave in his own language. Frightened, Amy takes their child and flees for her life. The following morning, Yanko dies of heart failure. It turns out that he had simply been asking for water.

The character of Yanko Goorall shares some similarities with Conrad himself. Like Yanko, Conrad is also a Pole living in England, and in "Amy Foster" he expresses some of his feelings of alienation.

In 1997, "Amy Foster" was made into the film, Swept from the Sea.

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