In Joseph Conrad’s only story set in World War I, he shows the sobering change that has taken place between a society of definitive values to a world of uncertainty. As the narrator tells this “tale”, a twist unfolds that is sure to leave the reader imagining what it might be like to have been in the same predicament. Conrad chooses the frame narrative as his literary technique that has been used in other stories such as “Heart of Darkness” and “Youth: A Narrative.” 

Russell McCall illustrates “The Tale”  with his abstract paintings in a way that captures the opaque nature of the story.