Summary Lord Jim


Joseph Conrad
Lord Jim
He was six feet tall, perhaps one or two inches smaller, of a strong build, and he walked straight at you, lowering his head and gazing stealthily from under his brow. He held himself as if he were stubbornly insisting on his rights, although there was nothing hostile about it, he seemed to take it equally to himself and to everyone else. He was always dressed impeccably, from head to foot – in white. It is unlikely that at the turn of the century in seaports east of Suez: in Bombay, Calcutta, Rangoon, Penang, Batavia – you could find the best marine clerk – a representative of trading firms that supplied ships with everything necessary. He was very disposed to himself, and the hosts were terribly annoyed when he suddenly left them, moving usually further to the east and taking with him the carefully kept secret of his impermanence. He was not always a naval clerk and did not remain for them forever. He, the son of an English village

priest, was all simply called Jim, but the Malays from the forest village, where his escape from something unbearable eventually brought him, called him Tyuan Jim, that is, Lord Jim himself. He was not yet twenty-four. He had been raving about the sea since childhood, received a license for navigation, and sailed as an assistant captain in the southern seas. Having recovered from the wound after one unsuccessful flight, he was going to return to England, but instead he was unexpectedly taken by the navigator to Patna, a small and rather decrepit ship navigating to Aden with eight hundred Muslim pilgrims. The team consisted of several white sailors, led by a German skipper, a rough fat man with repulsive manners. The magnificent calmness of the sea was not disturbed by anything, When the middle of the night the ship experienced a slight push. Later, during the trial, the experts agreed that it was most likely an old wreck, floating under the water upward keel. Inspection of the bow holds the team horrified: the water quickly arrived through the hole, the ship kept from flooding only a thin and completely unreliable iron
bulkhead of the nose compartment. “I could feel it arching from the pressure of water, pieces of rust fell down on top of me,” Jim later told me about what was left with him forever. The ship sank with its nose into the water, there were minutes left to die. There was no place in the boats and for a third of the people, there was no time to lower the boats. The skipper and two mechanics frantically effortlessly lowered one boat – they thought only of their own salvation. When the boat set sail, Jim, who was all this time in a daze of hopelessness, found himself in it. Most likely, in the last seconds he made this sudden jump from the side of the dying ship for himself, not out of fear for his life, but from the inability to bear the horror of his imagination before the chilling pictures of the imminent death of hundreds of people who are still sleeping peacefully. A sudden squall flew in, darkness concealed the ship’s lights. “It sank, sank! Another minute…” – excitedly began talking fugitives, and then Jim finally realized the disastrousness of his deed. It was a crime against maritime laws, a crime against the spirit of humanity, a terrible and irreparable crime against himself. It was a missed opportunity to save people and become a hero. It was much worse than death. Lies invented by fugitives to justify this act were not needed. A miracle happened: an old rusty bulkhead withstood the pressure of water, the French gunboat led Patna to the port in tow. Upon learning of this, the skipper escaped, the mechanics took refuge in the hospital, only Jim appeared before the marine court. The case was loud and provoked widespread indignation. The verdict is the deprivation of the skipper’s license, “Oh yeah, I was on this judicial investigation…” – Marlowe, the captain of the English merchant marine, begins his account of Jim’s story here, which he did not fully know in detail. no one but him. The cigar was smoldering in his hand, and the lights of the cigars of his listeners, lounging on the deck chairs on the veranda of the hotel in one of the ports of the southeastern seas, flashed and slowly moved like fireflies in the darkness of a fragrant and clear tropical night. Marlowe told me… The French gunboat led Patna to the port in tow. Upon learning of this, the skipper escaped, the mechanics took refuge in the hospital, only Jim appeared before the marine court. The case was loud and provoked widespread indignation. The verdict is the deprivation of the skipper’s license, “Oh yeah, I was on this judicial investigation…” – Marlowe, the captain of the English merchant marine, begins his account of Jim’s story here, which he did not fully know in detail. no one but him. The cigar was smoldering in his hand, and the lights of the cigars of his listeners, lounging on the deck chairs on the veranda of the hotel in one of the ports of the southeastern seas, flashed and slowly moved like fireflies in the darkness of a fragrant and clear tropical night. Marlowe told me… The French gunboat led Patna to the port in tow. Upon learning of this, the skipper escaped, the mechanics took refuge in the hospital, only Jim appeared before the marine court. The case was loud and provoked widespread indignation. The verdict is the deprivation of the skipper’s license, “Oh yeah, I was on this judicial investigation…” – Marlowe, the captain of the English merchant marine, begins his account of Jim’s story here, which he did not fully know in detail. no one but him. The cigar was smoldering in his hand, and the lights of the cigars of his listeners, lounging on the deck chairs on the veranda of the hotel in one of the ports of the southeastern seas, flashed and slowly moved like fireflies in the darkness of a fragrant and clear tropical night. Marlowe told me… before the sea court appeared only Jim. The case was loud and provoked widespread indignation. The verdict is the deprivation of the skipper’s license, “Oh yeah, I was on this judicial investigation…” – Marlowe, the captain of the English merchant marine, begins his account of Jim’s story here, which he did not fully know in detail. no one but him. The cigar was smoldering in his hand, and the lights of the cigars of his listeners, lounging on the deck chairs on the veranda of the hotel in one of the ports of the southeastern seas, flashed and slowly moved like fireflies in the darkness of a fragrant and clear tropical night. Marlowe told me… before the sea court appeared only Jim. The case was loud and provoked widespread indignation. The verdict is the deprivation of the skipper’s license, “Oh yeah, I was on this judicial investigation…” – Marlowe, the captain of the English merchant marine, begins his account of Jim’s story here, which he did not fully know in detail. no one but him. The cigar was smoldering in his hand, and the lights of the cigars of his listeners, lounging on the deck chairs on the veranda of the hotel in one of the ports of the southeastern seas, flashed and slowly moved like fireflies in the darkness of a fragrant and clear tropical night. Marlowe told me… which in detail and to the end did not know. no one but him. The cigar was smoldering in his hand, and the lights of the cigars of his listeners, lounging on the deck chairs on the veranda of the hotel in one of the ports of the southeastern seas, flashed and slowly moved like fireflies in the darkness of a fragrant and clear tropical night. Marlowe told me… which in detail and to the end did not know. no one but him. The cigar was smoldering in his hand, and the lights of the cigars of his listeners, lounging on the deck chairs on the veranda of the hotel in one of the ports of the southeastern seas, flashed and slowly moved like fireflies in the darkness of a fragrant and clear tropical night. Marlowe told me…
“This guy was holding a mystery in him, he went through all the humiliations of the investigation, although he could not do it, he suffered, he dreamed of being understood, he did not take sympathy, he wanted to start a new life.” He could not cope with the ghost of the past. trust and sympathy, but in the depths of all this there was a terrible suspicion and disappointment for everyone: he was refined, he was exalted, he was exalted, he was ready for feats, but the sky, the sea, people and the ship were all his. He wanted to regain his trust, he wanted to close the door behind him forever, he did l true glory -. and true obscurity he was worthy of them He was one of us, but we can never be like him..
Once I helped him get a decent place, but every time something reminded me of the past and everything went to rubble. The earth seemed small for his escape. Finally the case, a friend of all capable of patience, stretched out his hand over him. I told his story to my friend Shtein, a wealthy merchant and an outstanding collector-entomologist who spent his whole life in the East. His diagnosis was surprisingly simple: “I understand all this, he is a romantic.” The romantic must follow his dream, her mercy is unlimited, it’s the only way. ”
Jim got a seat at the factories of Stein in Patuzan, a place remote from all the machinations of civilization. The virgin forests of Malaya closed behind him.
Three years later I visited Patusan. Thuan Jim became the organizer of this abandoned country, its hero, her demigod. Peace descended upon him and seemed to spread among the mountains, forests and river valleys. With his fearlessness and fighting prudence, he pacified the ferocious local robber sheriff Ali and took his fortifications. The insidious and vicious Raja, the ruler of the country, trembled before him. The leader of the Boogie tribe, the wise Doramin, was with him in a noble and touching friendship, and the son of the leader had relations with him of that special affinity that can only be between people of different races,
Love came to him. The adoptive daughter of the former agent Stein, the Portuguese Cornelius, half-blooded Djuel, a tender, daring and unhappy girl before meeting him, became his wife. “I guess I’m worth something, if people can trust me,” Jim said with expressive sincerity.
“I had to assure all these people, including his wife, that Jim would never leave their country, as all the other white people they had ever seen, he would remain here forever, I myself was sure of it. there was no other place for him, but for this place there was no man like him. “Romance chose him as his prey, and this was the only distinct truth of this story.” We said goodbye forever. “
Marlowe finished his story, the listeners parted. The rest is already known from his manuscript, in which he tried to collect everything that could be learned about the completion of this story. It was an amazing adventure, and the most amazing thing was that this story was true.
It began with the fact that a certain man, nicknamed “gentleman Brown”, this blind assistant of the dark forces, who played the miserable role of the modern semi-pirate semi-tramp, managed to steal the Spanish schooner. Hoping to get supplies for his starving gang, he anchored at the mouth of the Petyazan River and climbed up to the village on the boat. To the astonishment of the bandits, the “Jim people” resisted so decisively that they were soon surrounded on a hill. Negotiations between Brown and Jim – two representatives of the white race, standing at different poles of the universe. Desperately looking for salvation, Brown with the instinct of a driven beast finds Jim’s vulnerable spot. He says that Jim has a real opportunity, to prevent bloodshed, to save from the death of many people. Against this Jim, the only victim of Patna, can not resist. On the advice of the tribe, he says: “All will be safe and sound, I vouch with my head.” Brown’s barge is allowed to sail. I must pass through it and the barrage detachment, located at the bottom along the river, headed by the son of the leader. Brown, meanwhile, was joined by Cornelius, a man who hated Jim for changing his life in Patusen in three years, made evident all the insignificance of his predecessor. Taking advantage of the betrayal, the bandits attacked the defensive detachment, the son of the leader was killed. In the village comes the terrible news of his death. The people can not understand the reasons for this misfortune, but Jim’s guilt is obvious to them. Jim Jewel’s wife and faithful servants beg him to defend themselves in their fortified manor or flee. I must pass through it and the barrage detachment, located at the bottom along the river, headed by the son of the leader. Brown, meanwhile, was joined by Cornelius, a man who hated Jim for changing his life in Patusen in three years, made evident all the insignificance of his predecessor. Taking advantage of the betrayal, the bandits attacked the defensive detachment, the son of the leader was killed. In the village comes the terrible news of his death. The people can not understand the reasons for this misfortune, but Jim’s guilt is obvious to them. Jim Jewel’s wife and faithful servants beg him to defend themselves in their fortified manor or flee. I must pass through it and the barrage detachment, located at the bottom along the river, headed by the son of the leader. Brown, meanwhile, was joined by Cornelius, a man who hated Jim for changing his life in Patusen in three years, made evident all the insignificance of his predecessor. Taking advantage of the betrayal, the bandits attacked the defensive detachment, the son of the leader was killed. In the village comes the terrible news of his death. The people can not understand the reasons for this misfortune, but Jim’s guilt is obvious to them. Jim Jewel’s wife and faithful servants beg him to defend themselves in their fortified manor or flee. Taking advantage of the betrayal, the bandits attacked the defensive detachment, the son of the leader was killed. In the village comes the terrible news of his death. The people can not understand the reasons for this misfortune, but Jim’s guilt is obvious to them. Jim Jewel’s wife and faithful servants beg him to defend themselves in their fortified manor or flee. Taking advantage of the betrayal, the bandits attacked the defensive detachment, the son of the leader was killed. In the village comes the terrible news of his death. The people can not understand the reasons for this misfortune, but Jim’s guilt is obvious to them. Jim Jewel’s wife and faithful servants beg him to defend themselves in their fortified manor or flee.
But loneliness has already closed over him. “I can not save a life that does not exist.” Rejecting all pleading, Dord Jim goes to the house of the leader of Doramin, enters the circle of light, where the body of the murdered friend lies. Unable to overcome his grief, Doramin kills this incomprehensible white man.
He leaves in the shadow of the cloud, mysterious, unforgiven, forgotten, such a romantic, unknown conqueror of glory. He was one of us. And although now he often seems to be only a mysterious ghost, there are days when his being is felt with overwhelming force.


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Summary Lord Jim