Study Questions
Is this Jim's story or Marlow's? In other words, is this a novel about actions, or a novel about storytelling? Which aspect of the text is privileged?
Discuss the women in this novel. What role do they play symbolically? Literally? Why are there so few of them? Why do Jewel, her mother, and Gentleman Brown's late mistress have such similar stories?
Does Conrad offer a critique of colonialism in this novel? Is he in support of it? Or does it just provide a setting? How does the history of colonialism affect the plot of this novel?
What does Marlow mean when he says that Jim is "one of us"? Why does he take such an interest in Jim?
What kind of hero is Jim? A Romantic hero? A modern hero? A moral hero? An anti-hero? What are the ideals that he upholds or fails to uphold?
What is the relationship between the episode of the Patna and the episode in Patusan? Wouldn't it have been enough to have Jim go through one or the other?
This is a novel that is, to a certain extent, about colonialism. Is national identity important? Does it matter that Jim is British? Or is one's identity as a member of the maritime community more important?
Why does Jim let Gentleman Brown go? After what happened on the Patna, does he have any choice?
What kind of language does Conrad use? What kinds of imagery? Does he use metaphor? Allegory? Symbolism? What kinds of things does he describe in most detail? In least detail? Why?
What is the meaning of honor, or ideals, in this novel? Where do these ideas come from?
