The
novel tells the tale(s) of Jim, a young Englishman who is the bored son of a
country parson. He escapes his small town by joining the merchant marines
traveling the vast seas of the British Empire. On one outing he is injured and
then left at port somewhere in the Malay archipelago to get well. When well, he
signs on as First Mate to a ship and returns to sea. That ship is the decrepit Patna
setting sail overloaded with eight hundred passengers on route to their Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
One
night the ship will hit an unknown object and the Captain and crew fearing it is
sinking will abandon ship in a life boat, leaving the passengers to fend on
their own. Jim’s last-minute decision to leave with the crew haunts him with guilt.
After several days afloat the lifeboat will drift into a port, where the crew
discovers the Patna had not sunk, but instead had been towed into port by another
ship that came across it. While a Magistrates Court is being convened all crew
members skip town, except Jim who testifies, admitting they abandoned ship. They
lose their merchant marine certificates, and Jim becomes the public face of
disgrace.
The
trial is attended by another merchant sea captain, Charles Marlow (a world-wise
Englishman who also plays a primary role in Conrad’s book The Heart of Darkness). Marlow is appalled by Jim’s behavior but also pities him. Marlow
will help Jim find employment in multiple Malay ports, but each time Jim’s past
catches up with him he quits and moves on. Finally, Marlow will recommend Jim
to a man named Stein, a merchant who needs help in the town of Patusan, a town
which is upriver, not on a seagoing port.
At
Patusan Jim is able to tame his demons and start over again, endearing himself to
the local villagers, who trust him and call him Lord Jim, not knowing of his
past. Eventually though, this paradise will fall apart when the town is
attacked by English pirates who Jim mistakenly tells the village leader will
leave, without violence. Long story short, the village chief’s son is killed,
and Jim will self-sacrifice feeling he has once again betrayed people who
counted on him.
One can give this book as a psychological or even theological study and be accurate, and true to the author. Too many reviewers though seem to have over-analyzed it. When a movie was made of it producers needed more action. Hence, they hired a young Peter O’Toole, blue eyes and all, to play Jim -- O’Toole had just won an Academy Award for Lawrence of Arabia. While the action sequence is in the book, it's grossly overplayed in the movie.
Recommendation: Neutral
