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’s longer letter begins with the statement that everything starts with the man Brown, whom Marlow briefly mentioned earlier. Gentleman Brown is supposedly the son of a baronet, but he has done things at sea that could get him hanged. His exploits include running off with the wife of a missionary, who was ill at the time and died on his ship, prompting a violent outburst of grief from him. At another point, he gets captured by the Spanish while trying to smuggle guns.
Brown is like a pirate. His running off with the wife of a missionary shows a total disregard for (Christian) religion and the conventional morality it espouses. His grief at the death of the sick woman suggests that he isn’t entirely heartless, although this brief biography certainly paints him as a person without a strong conscience.
Themes
With the help of a loyal crewmember from the Solomon Islands, Brown manages to reunite with his crew and steal a Spanish vessel. Brown’s eventual goal is to take the vessel to Madagascar. Along the way, however, he comes across Patusan somehow and sees the opportunity to stock up on supplies.
Brown’s exploits show that he is notorious for a reason—not only is he amoral, but he’s also very clever and capable as a leader, taking advantage of every opportunity that comes his way.
Themes
There are sixteen men with Brown, and fourteen of them go with him up the river toward Patusan in a smaller longboat while two stay behind with the schooner. When Brown first arrives at a fishing village, the place seems deserted. It turns out, however, that the villagers had been warned in advance of the approaching longboat. All of a sudden, Brown hears drums and war cries, and he sees that two of his men are wounded. Boats from Rajah Allang’s stockade block their retreat.
Brown’s invasion of Patusan causes Doramin’s people and Rajah Allang’s to form an uneasy alliance, showing that they have a common interest in keeping out men like Brown’s crew. Although the Malays are not as well armed as Brown’s men, they have superior numbers, higher ground, and better knowledge of the environment.
Themes
Brown and his men land their boat and go inland to take up a position on a knoll. Brown waits for an attack, or at least for someone to try to take his longboat, but for a long time, nothing happens. The boats from Rajah Allang seem curiously hesitant to attack.
Rajah Allang’s failure to attack suggests at best a failure of communication and at worst a splintering of the fragile alliance between the two main factions of Malays in Patusan.
Themes
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