Essay Example on Lord Jim: A Story of Unpredictable Contingencies

Unpredictable Contingencies are uncertainties that people are not sure about. It can be an outcome or a result. The outcomes influence the direction of a story. An example of such a story is Lord Jim. Lord Jim is a story written by Joseph Conrad and initially published in 1900. The story is about a man called Jim and his tragic failure when he abandons a ship with passengers in it because, he feared it would sink and his redemption while living with the people from Malays (Chandler, 837). Therefore, this discussion is about how Jim and Dain Waris dealt with unpredictable contingencies or the accidental adventure and how their reaction form and influence their stories'

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Firstly, Jim worked as a water clerk for a ship- chandler firm within the East; however, he wanted to make the sea his career. His ambition made him enroll on a training ship for officers of the merchant marine. Jim's adventuring spirit enabled him to put a lot of effort into the training ship, and as a result, he did well and advanced to third place in navigation. Although he passed his training, when destruction struck, and Jim was called upon to aid a vessel which had been destroyed during a fierce storm, he held back in fear. In this situation of the accidental adventure, Jim failed to help when he was needed the most. To ease his guilt, he convinced himself that he was not afraid of what he saw but, waiting for a challenge that matched his heroism. Therefore, his way of thinking after such a disaster made him forget his cowardice action and helped him live without a guilty conscience.

Secondly, when the Patna ran over some floating wreckage and got severely damaged in her forepeak compartment Jim is again in a dilemma. He fears the damage to be extensive and feared that if the bulkhead bulged, then the pressure outside the ship would force the water to enter inside the ship. The Patna was transporting around eight hundred pilgrims to Mecca. At the time of that accident, the pilgrims were fast asleep without any knowledge of what was happening. Jim, together with some of the officers, decided to get away using a lifeboat while leaving the passengers to die. The solemn duty of Jim and the officers was to protect and serve the pilgrims, but when disaster struck, they only thought of themselves. The excuse he gave was there was a collision with a "waterlogged wreck" which created a "big hole below the water line" (26). Jim's actions humiliated him to a point he considered swimming back to the Patna, but he didn't. His behavior resulted in him losing his naval certificate, despising himself for the rest of his life, and, consequently, meeting Marlow, who later became a friend.

Thirdly, the death of Dain Waris brought redemption to Jim's life. When the bandits struck and Dain Waris together with Doramin and the villagers suggested the annihilation of the bandits, however, Jim decided to talk and make peace. His guilty conscience did not want bloodshed, and as a result, it led to the death of Dain Waris. Jim had pledged his life as security should any harm come to any villager, and after being double-crossed, instead of fleeing with his wife, he went and faced Doramin alone. The chief then shot him, but in this situation, Jim had done the right thing for the first time, and his guilty conscience was now free.

Conclusion

In summary, Lord Jim is a story that has a lot of twists. Jim thought that a career at sea would be adventurous, without thinking about all the negative consequences. As a result, he became a man running from his past. His guilty conscience was too much for him to bear, but when Jim found solace in the Malay state and had a chance to start again, he saw it as a second chance in life. He started over, and even though his life ended, he died at peace without any feeling of guilt. Therefore, we learn that although a person's past may be dark, some people need a second chance to prove themselves.

Works Cited

Chandler, James. "On the Face of the Case: Conrad, Lord Jim, and the Sentimental Novel." Critical Inquiry 33.4 (2007): 837-864.