Lord Jim

Jim is introduced as a strong, well-built man of just under six feet with a manner of “dogged self-assertion” but without aggression (1). Blue-eyed and fair-haired, Jim is described throughout the novel as wearing clean, white clothing. This habit serves as a symbol to emphasize his position as a white among non-whites, and also symbolizes his attempt to redeem himself after the events of the Patna. Jim would rather no one know any name of his beyond “Jim,” and his surname is never shared with the reader. Jim’s preference for comparative anonymity is part of his character, at least following the shameful incident involving the Patna early in the novel. Jim thinks he has tarnished his family name. He is enthusiastic about taking up the role in Patusan partly as a chance to make a new name for himself. While there, he is bestowed the title of “Tuan Jim,” or Lord Jim, as a white representative of empire.

Jim is the fifth of five brothers, which perhaps explains his need to take to the sea to seek his fortune, as he will not inherit any of his family’s property. The very little else the reader knows of Jim’s family comes mainly from a description of a single letter from Jim’s father, whose kind