Perspectives

Literary perspective

“An Outpost of Progress” by Joseph Conrad is a modernist short story. One feature of modernism is the presence of flawed and anti-heroic characters. This feature is also found in “An Outpost of Progress”, where Kayerts and Carlier are symbols of racism, and laziness. Modernist literature also relies on symbols, which are present in Conrad’s story. Furthermore, the story is modernist because it is built as a critique that exposes and mocks colonialism. Through the example of Kayerts and Carlier, colonialism is ridiculed because of the contrast between its expectations and reality. 

“An Outpost of Progress” is also an example of colonial fiction. This was a type of literature focusing heavily on themes relevant to the colonial period. Colonial fiction takes place in the colonies – for example, “An Outpost of Pro...