Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Lord Jim, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Fantasy vs. Reality
Justice and Duty
Racism and Colonialism
Truth and Perspective
Summary
Analysis
Marlow meets Doramin on his visit and believes he is one of the most remarkable Malays Marlow has ever seen—he’s very bulky and statuesque. He needs help from servants to walk, but somehow this only makes his movements feel more important and momentous. Many believe that Doramin’s wife helps him govern, although few ever overhear them talking to each other. They have a son named Dain Waris who is in his mid-20s and who is fiery but shows deference to his parents in public.
While Rajah Allang is a racial stereotype, the novel arguably portrays the other Malay characters more positively—they are simultaneously more virtuous and more complex than Rajah Allang. For some critics, however, the fact that the “best” Malays are the ones most receptive to European ideas could be taken as evidence of Conrad’s own biases and Eurocentrism.
Themes
Jim says that Doramin and his family are like people out of a book, very solemn and important looking. Jim says he could tell, however, that Doramin and his people were afraid of Rajah Allang, so Jim devised a plan to try to change things. Dain Waris, who out of the Malays acts the most European, was the first of the Bugis to believe in Jim.
Jim remains fixated on outward appearances, and so what attracts him to Doramin and Dain Waris is how impressive they look on the outside (as opposed to Rajah Allang, who is visibly dirty).
Themes
Literary Devices
Marlow has heard the story many times about how Jim led Doramin and his people to a victory over Sherif Ali, who is a bandit and an enemy of both Doramin and Rajah Allang. Though Doramin’s Bugis fighters were in a vulnerable position, their cannons were impressive and prevented Sherif Ali from attacking.
Jim’s military victory is a surprising event, given that he has no previous experience leading people into battle. As it turns out, the whole affair involved more than a little luck on Jim’s part, as well as some help from his Malay allies. Thus, the victory isn’t quite so romantic as Jim’s heroic fantasies.
Themes
