Narration in Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim: A Postcolonial Reading

This study is an attempt at a colonial and postcolonial reading of Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim. It is specifically focused on the narrative strategies used in the novel. In other words, it investigates the connection between the narrative strategy and a possible tone of imperialism in Conrad’s novel. For the introduction, a brief review of Conrad’s manner of writing and his peculiar ambiguity is presented. Then, there is an analysis of the overall politics in Lord Jim. Finally, the study considers the employment of narrative devices and several narrative voices in Lord Jim. It goes on to distinguish between Marlow (the character-narrator of the story), the frame narrator, and other voices in the novel in order to shed light on the narrative structure and its relation to the colonialist discourse in the novel. In parallel with this examination, Conrad’s role as the writer, as reflected in Marlow’s voice and other voices, is analyzed to see where he might stand in the narration of Lord Jim.