Book description
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'Who could tell what forms, what visions, what faces, what forgiveness
he could see in the glow of the west!'
Jim is a well-bred young romantic who takes to the seas with hopes of
adventure and the aspiration to prove his mettle. When the boat he sails
in threatens to sink, Jim abandons ship in fear in order to save
himself, leaving the other passengers to their fate. However, the ship
does not sink and guilt-ridden Jim admits to the maritime court of
inquiry that he deserted the boat and is consequently stripped of his
sailing papers. Blighted by his own cowardice, Jim's subsequent
self-exile to a remote Malaysian trading post gives Conrad the
opportunity to explore the question of moral identity and through his
hero, he embodies the values and deterioration of the declining empire
of late Victorian Britain. With its rich descriptions of an unknown,
exotic world and beautifully constructed prose, Lord Jim is considered
one of Conrad's greatest works.
