Lord Jim was a novel written by Joseph Conrad, it was mainly about a young man called Jim, who dreamed to be a strong and brave hero. He did become a sailor of the Patna, but he escaped from the ship because of an incident and he was afraid. Jim felt guilty, he told this to Marlow, who found a place for Jim to live in his friend’s home at first, then Jim went to the East Indies to be the ship chandler’s clerk. He handled this job very well, but then he went to Bangkok and got into a fistfight. Marlow consulted his friend Stein, who offered to be his trade representative in Patusan. Jim managed to win the natives’ respect by protecting them from the harm from the Malay chief, the bandit Sherif Ali. Jim made links with people there, he was in love with Jewel, and people called him “Lord Jim” because of his leadership. Jewel’s stepfather hated Jim because he led him to be displaced. Then, Jim had some conflicts with Brown. At last, Jim was killed by Doramin because of the death of his son.
The idealities are always romantic, but the realistic can be cruel and ironic. Everyone has their own idealities, and was confident that they could achieve it, but the realistic was filled with difficulties and cruelties. In the novel “Lord Jim”, Jim’s earlier dream was to be a hero, because the heroes are brave and strong, Jim wanted to be that kind of person. He finally became a sailor, which was also a symbol of strength and courage. But when the accident really happened on the Patna, the ship Jim was working on, he chose to escape from the difficulties and the emergent situation, he chose to ignore hundreds of the passengers on the ship and escape. This was because Jim was afraid. He was afraid to face death, and also the chaotic situation. He gave up the chance when it was time for him to be the hero, his dreamed character. Life is not predictable, reality will definitely not always match with idealities, and it might be beyond the scope of our ability. This is understandable, but the key to succeed and achieve our idealities was just to be brave enough to face the reality.
The guiltiness inside people’s hearts forces us to endure the consequence, no matter if the consequence was cruel or irreversible. If we don’t feel guilty, we will never realize that we have done things wrong, and we have to pay for it. In the novel “Lord Jim”, the Patna was facing an accident, and Jim should be taking responsibility for the passengers of the ship. In the chaotic situation, Jim hesitated and became entangled, he finally made the wrong choice, which was deserting the ship and the passengers to save his own life. He was selfish at that moment, because the panic engulfed his belief and rationality. Jim did feel guilty after the wrong choice he made, and he realized his fault. Jim was a typical example of how guiltiness forced people’s conscience to pay the consequence. His conscience forced him to be staunch during the humiliating trial, because he realized he has to face the consequence of his fault. When we feel guilty, our actions will often be more rational than emotional. But when we are making decisions, we think more emotionally but not rationally.
Trusting people and having a merciful heart was necessary, but it was not incorrect to trust others too easily and casually. The consequence of trusting others spontaneously can be pernicious for either us or others. In the novel “Lord Jim”, Jim trusted the lie of Brown, an evil captain. Just because he trusted Brown and showed his mercy heart, Brown was allowed to leave Patusan unobstructed. This gives Cornelius the chance to get rid of Jim, and causes Brown to kill the local defense led by Dain Waris. Dain Waris was the son of Doramin, the anger forced him to kill Jim. Jim paid his consequence of trusting bad guys easily, and the innocent Waris paid his life for the mistake of Jim. The premise of trusting people was to know why they are managing to win our trust, and the consequence after trusting other people.
In conclusion, the novel “Lord Jim” was about three main themes, romantic and realistic, guiltiness, and trust. The idealities are always romantic, but the realistic can be cruel and ironic. Everyone has their own idealities, and was confident that they could achieve it, but the realistic was filled with difficulties and cruelties. The guiltiness inside people’s hearts forces us to endure the consequence, no matter if the consequence was cruel or irreversible. If we don’t feel guilty, we will never realize that we have done things wrong, and we have to pay for it. Trusting people and having a merciful heart was necessary, but it was not incorrect to trust others too easily and casually. The consequence of trusting others spontaneously can be pernicious for either us or others.
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