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Posted by LFSmith on August 01, 19100 at 03:16:37:
In Reply to: Lord Jim: alternate ending posted by Scott McMinn on July 30, 19100 at 12:51:19:
: I have to write an alternate ending for Lord Jim, any ideas?
This is actually a pretty tough ignment-- maybe much more difficult than you realize. You have only three types of endings from among which to choose: Jim is destroyed, which is what Conrad wrote; Jim is saved in a romantic fantasy; Jim enters an alternate universe, such as the one "C'est moi" describes.
If you go with the romantic ending possibility, you deny nearly everything else in the book. It is Jim's romantic nature which has caused him to end up where and how he is. Stein has already said that the only "cure" for Jim's problem is for him to immerse himself in the destructive element; that is, to live life. If you have Brown not appear in Patusan, your ending will be that Jim just lives there until he dies, since he's already told Marlow that he's not coming out of the interior. In general, any sort of romantic ending will be at best unsatisfying and at worst silly.
If you write another Jim-is-destroyed ending, well, why bother? Conrad already did it-- probably a lot better than you can. And Jim does have to be destroyed; if he weren't, then why would Marlow bother to tell us the story? Remember, What's happening to Marlow is a very large part of the significance of the book.
You could start an alternate ending early in the book, at the point where Jim keeps abandoning s when he thinks someone knows who he is. Then, however, your ending would be that Jim becomes a happy, well-adjusted guy who lives out his life in the shipping industry. Why would Marlow tell us that, and why would we read it? You would also be rewriting the whole book, not just the ending.
The off-the-wall approach has some appeal, maybe, but is that what your instructor wants? That is, if he or she is trying to do something serious with the ignment, a nonsense ending-- even a clever, well-written one-- will obviate that purpose. On the other hand, if this is a sponge activity designed to soak up a little time and provide some entertainment, you can go for it.
SDG is right: English teachers do love this kind of ignment. However, sometimes they give it without considering the stress it can cause students.
LFSmith