“Lord Jim” is a novel by Joseph Conrad which was first published in 1900. The story is believed to be based on true events despite the author’s denying this. The novel is divided into two parts. The first part describes Jim (the author never mentions his surname) who becomes first mate on the Patna, a ship by means of which the pilgrims travel to Mecca; during an accident Jim and other members of the crew have to abandon the ship together with its passengers. This part is important for it shows Jim’s true essence: he has always wanted to be a hero but due to his cowardice, he never managed to become one. The second part describes Jim’s rise, his further life, and strivings to redeem himself. In the course of his life, Jim encounters two other people, Stein and Brierly; these two characters help the reader realize what kind of person Jim is because they can be easily contrasted to him. Stein and Brierly are foils for Jim in the novel “Lord Jim” because their character traits are completely opposite to Jim’s; contrasting these three figures allows understanding each of them better.
Jim is the central character of the book who has to undergo many severe trials and whose life ruins after the mysterious incident on the Patna. Jim is a romantic character; he is an idealist who always aspires for greatness but whose every decision is a failure. His only flaw is namely his romantic idealism which does not let him succeed in his life. Throughout the story, he is trying to convince himself that he is a leader and that he is strong; he even looks like a leader: “He was an inch, perhaps two, under six feet, powerfully built, and he advanced straight at you with a slight stoop of the shoulders, head forward, and a fixed from-under stare which made you think of a charging bull.” (1) However, in reality he is weak and cowardly, and he often harms those people he is supposed to protect. This is what usually happens with such people as Jim because their romantic idealism is destructive for themselves and for people who surround them. These character traits distinguish Jim from another character, Stein.
Stein may be considered to be a pivotal figure of the book. Even the chapter about him is the exact middle of the book (chapter 20). Stein may be regarded as Jim’s dream because this is what Jim was striving to become: “This Stein was a wealthy and respected merchant. His ‘house’ […] had a large inter-island business, with a lot of trading posts established in the most out-of-the-way places for collecting the produce.” (147) Stein can be considered an ideal for Jim who has always wanted to become rich and successful. Stein was a trustworthy man, which cannot be said about Jim who only wanted to become such a man. This character is similar to Jim in his romance and sensitivity, “The beauty – but this is nothing – look at the accuracy, the harmony. And so fragile! And so strong! And so exact! This is nature – the balance of colossal forces.” (151) However, this sensitivity is the only feature that unites them; Stein, just like Brierly, is a foil to Jim in everything else.
Finally, Captain Montague Brierly is a character completely opposite to Jim. His main traits are self-worth and self-satisfaction; never in his life had Brierly “made a mistake, never had an accident, never a mishap, never a check in his steady rise, and he seemed to be one of those lucky fellows who know nothing of indecision, much less of self-mistrust.” (41) Brierly is juxtaposed to Jim in the novel; this juxtaposition emphasizes Jim’s inner strength which he needs in order to resist distortion of his moral sense. This contrast between Brierly and Jim helps the reader to realize that Jim, unlike Brierly, will never treat himself unjustly and will never trivialize his soul. One more thing that distinguishes Jim from Brierly is that the former will never commit any actions that would be against morality, for Jim is an idealist true to “his fine sensibilities, his fine feelings, his fine longings.” (129) Unlike Brierly, Jim would never go against his principles, irrespective of what he can be offered instead.
In sum, Brierly and Stein can indeed be foils for Jim. Stein is a wealthy and trustworthy person; he symbolizes Jim’s aspirations because he is what Jim has always wanted to become. Brierly, in his turn, can be opposed to Jim in personal properties. Brierly was an extremely lucky person who never in his life got into trouble and who never made a single mistake. Nevertheless, Jim, when contrasted to Brierly, has more positive and attractive features due to his faithfulness to the sense of morality. Unlike Brierly who is attains his purpose at any price, Jim would never do something against his principles. These differences in certain features allow considering Stein and Brierly foils for Jim.
Works Cited
Conrad, Joseph, Hampson, Robert, and Watts, Cedric. Lord Jim. Penguin Books, 1986.