Joseph Conrad (1857—1924) is one of the most famous English prose-writers who was born not far from the Ukrainian town Berdychiv and walked his way up from an ordinary sailor to captain ship. That is why it was no mere chance that the main heroes of his tales “The Shadow-Line” and “Typhoon” were exactly captains. The author purposefully places them into the extreme conditions trying to investigate the depths of human psychology in the light of universal values. The main questions which the writer is interested in are as follows: will an ordinary man remain the same one under the unfavorable circumstances, is he able to tower over his own needs and instincts?