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
Jim’s victory over Sherif Ali became legendary in Patusan. When Marlow visits, people are still telling fantastical stories of how Jim got his cannons in position to attack Sherif Ali. Dain Waris was in charge of a party storming Sherif Ali’s camp directly. Jim is amazed at how much trust the Malays put in him as a leader during the attack and especially after victory, which provided a great morale boost to Doramin’s people.
Despite his high ideas about himself, even Jim realizes that the Malays put a little more trust in him than perhaps they should. While these high expectations help Jim reach his potential, they also place expectations on him that no mortal could ever hope to live up to.
Themes
Stories of Jim’s victory over Sherif Ali are so exaggerated that some say Jim opened the gate of Sherif Ali’s camp with a single finger. In reality, Jim had help from Dain Waris and from Tamb’ Itam. Tamb’ Itam is Jim’s Malay servant and a very dark-skinned man from outside of Patusan who escaped Rajah Allang and devoted himself religiously to serving Jim.
Part of the reason why Jim has earned such a super-human reputation is that he doesn’t do everything by himself—loyal friends like Dain Waris and Tamb’ Itam are doing work behind the scenes. This again highlights the discrepancy between Jim’s fantasies and his reality. In some ways, the relationship is mutually beneficial, since the Malays who serve Jim can use Jim’s legend as a way to scare off Rajah Allang.
Themes
Fighting between Dain Waris’s party and Sherif Ali’s was quick, with Dain Waris setting fire to the whole encampment and everyone clearing out. The victory over Sherif Ali was significant for Doramin and it cemented Jim’s reputation as a leader with exceptional, even legendary abilities.
Jim’s victory over Sherif Ali relies more on a show of force that causes Sherif Ali to flee rather than real force. As Jim himself knows well, sometimes the enemy a person creates in their mind is scarier than the real thing.
Themes
