From Depravity To Rebirth

As one of the greatest works of Conrad, Lord Jim has attracted much attention inthe academic world since it’s published. At all times, many scholars and criticsresearch Lord Jim with different approaches and from different perspectives. Amongthem, many scholars interpret the novel in light of archetypal criticism and moralcriticism. But there is no person who uses Frye’s Biblical narrative theory to researchthe theme in the novel Lord Jim. The thesis takes Frye’s U-shaped narrative structureas an entry point, and regards the theme of moral return as the main line to analyze theembodiment of U-shaped narrative structure in Lord Jim and to explore thesignificance of U-shaped narrative structure on the sublimation of theme as well asthe depiction of character’s psychology. By the analysis of U-shaped narrativestructure in the novel Lord Jim, the thesis displays the whole process of Jim’s moraldevelopment: depravity, redemption, and rebirth and thereby reveals that under thecoloration of the Bible, the novel’s theme of moral return will be more persuasive andprofound.