Identity and Ethics in Crisis. A Postcolonial Reading of Conrad’s Lord Jim

Nirmal Gurung

• Publisher: GRIN Verlag
• Year: 2026
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9783389198476
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literary Collections
• Index: Literature

Master's Thesis from the year 2026 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies, grade: 3.7, Tribhuvan University, language: English, abstract: This study analyzes Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim as a critique of colonial structure. The study argues that the colonial power damages the morals of both the colonizer and the colonized within the same system. Most interpretations of the novel have seen the personal guilt of Jim, the seeking of redemption, and the suffering of local people. Such reading does not provide a colonial structure that creates moral dilemmas. Three questions for this study have been raised in this study: How does Lord Jim depict the way imperialist principles shape colonial power? In what ways does Jim's identity crisis reflect psychological and moral dilemmas? Why does the novel depict colonial moral conflict for both the colonizer and the colonized? Therefore, the postcolonial approach is used as an analytical tool. Some of the most important theorists included in this study are Edward Said, Leela Gandhi, Homi K. Bhabha, and Frantz Fanon. Gandhi shows that colonial authority is unstable and full of ambivalence. Bhabha reflects the hybridity and mimicry ideas. Both thinkers reveal that colonial authority is unstable, fragile and uncertain. The textual analysis of the novel reveals that Jim's romantic idealism makes him fail as both a hero and a leader. The local community, represented by Doramin, has its own clear moral code. Jim ultimately betrays Patusan people's trust, leading to tragedy. The conclusion is that Conrad portrays colonialism as a system with no morality. It destroys the colonizer's soul and betrays the colonizer's trust, leaving only the shattered promises and retaliation.