Lord Jim

Tragedy? I Think Not.

When evaluating the tragic value of Lord Jim, it is important to examine both sides of the dispute. While it argued that the story is a tragedy due to the death of the protagonist, Jim, the tale does not fit all of Aristotle's requirements for tragedy. For example, Jim was not born into nobility. Also, he gets what he wants in the end, so Lord Jim is not a tragedy.

As is stated by Jim in the film, he wants to restore his honor (55). He is saying restore it, because he many years before had captained a ship (Patna) that had sunk, and instead of going down with the ship, he jumped. Earlier, when explaining why he does not want to tell the Patusanian people about The Patna, he talks about resect. He shared that he had earned their respect and that the last thing he wanted was to risk losing it (44).

From the beginning, Jim's fate was clear: "No man was more respected or damned" (1). When Jim fantasized, he saw himself as being loved and trusted (6). When talking to Stein about his decision to go to Patusan, the idea of men as heroes arose. Stein said, "some men can never become heroes. Some heroes can never become men" (28). Jim foreshadowed his life saying, "Some are lucky enough to be both" (29).

Although Jim died, he died honorably. He had helped the Patsanian people get what they wanted and needed. After that, he had a choice: run in cowardice and live, or die in honor. He chose death, keeping the respect that he had worked so hard to earn and