Conrad's Lord Jim: Subversion Of The Imperial Myth

Joseph Conrad is a Polish-born English novelist. He is one of the defining founders of literary Modernism, and his influence has been widely acknowledged. Since its publication, Lord Jim has retained its place as one of Conrad's most important works, and is even considered as "a supreme exemplar' of literary Modernism.Different from the formula of the stories about Western colonizers" adventures, the title-character Jim in Lord Jim is a person who pictures himself as an adventuring hero but fails to fulfill those codes of the Western society. At the same time, the white men around Jim also display little virtue of the 'superior race" claimed by Europeans. especially the British. With his unique perception and mode of narration, Conrad shows the actual life and experience of Western colonizers, reveals the harsh truth of colonialism, and expresses his doubt of the imperial civilization of the day.This thesis analyzes Lord Jim against the historical background of colonial expansion in the nineteenth century, and discusses and expresses some new understanding and opinions of this novel through comparing it with other colonial adventure stories of the day.