Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad. Short summary

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Lord Jim is a young British merchant officer who showed weakness in a moment of danger, but later gained self-confidence, regained his good name, and won the trust and love of the people.

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The protagonist of the novel is a young man named Jim in his twenties, the son of an English country clergyman who has always dreamed of the sea. Jim became a navigator on the old steamer Patna, which was sailing to Aden with several hundred Muslim pilgrims. One night the ship began to sink. During the shipwreck, Jim showed weakness and jumped into the lifeboat, leaving the passengers behind.

Fortunately, the ship did not sink. But Jim was stripped of his skipper’s license. Captain Marlowe tried to help the lad, but Jim blamed himself for the dishonorable act and accepted no sympathy.

After a while the hero took a job on a remote factoring station at Patuzan, a place among the virgin forests of Malaysia. Here Jim soon won the love and respect of the locals. With his fearlessness he subdued the fierce outlaw Sheriff Ali and seized his fortifications. Jim fell in love with the beautiful half-breed girl Jewel, who became his wife. In the finale, Jim fought off the outlaw Brown with dignity, but was killed as a result of betrayal.