Conrad’s guilt theme in the novel Lord Jim is shown directly through the main character, Jim. “Jim’s spiritual odyssey explores the theme of guilt”(Kuehn 35). Jim is a strong character at heart, but he is overcome by the forces that guilt put on his mind. Jim is a man controlled by his fear. He dreams of becoming a hero at sea and his dreams are repeatedly shattered. He is therefore flushed with guilt. Throughout the novel Jim’s guilt haunts him and prevents him from becoming reestablished as a clean person. Early in the novel Jim finds guilt when he is at sea. The sea engulfs a boat nearby and everyone aboard the ship Jim is on dives overboard to rescue people. Jim hesitates and is told by the captain that he is too late. Jim missed the chance of becoming a hero and is therefore struck with guilt. This incident however is a small mistake that Jim encounters. His next failure is the primary focus of guilt in the novel. Jim is injured while at sea and has to remain in a hospital in the Middle East. After he is well enough to head out to sea he is offered a job aboard the Patna. The ship is dark, gloomy, and aged quite a bit. When out amongst the raging tides the Patna crashes into a small ship. Jim runs about the ship searching for the rest of the crew. Jim finds the mates and they tell him that the ship is sinking. Jim begins to worry about the eight hundred pilgrims that are sleeping in the cabin below. Jim knows that there are not nearly enough small boats for all of them to fit in. The rest of the crew decides to take the boats and leave the pilgrims to sink with the ship. Jim stands by the edge of the ship where the others are jumping down to the boats. The other officers call for him to jump and abandon the pilgrims. Jim made his decision. “So, in response to a call to a dead man, Jim jumped into his “everlasting deep hole” but the call was to a part of Jim; t...
