STAGE

Lord Jim
4 Joseph Conrad

Introduction

This ungraded summary is for the teacher’s use only

and should not be given to students.

The story
Jim trains in the merchant navy and, hoping for a
chance to prove his bravery, becomes a mate on the
Patna. The ship is carrying eight hundred pilgrims to
Mecca, when she hits an underwater obstacle. When
Jim reports to the captain that the ship has suffered
serious damage, the officers prepare to abandon ship in English, although he had never heard the language
and passengers. Jim yields to the temptation to go spoken until he was twenty-one, and all based on his
with them. He is the only officer who has the courage own experiences. He was a master storyteller and a
to attend the inquiry and face his punishment. There great novelist.
the narrator, Marlow, sees him and, intrigued by him, The story is set in the Far East, in the second half
helps him to get work. But Jim’s reputation as a of the nineteenth century, at a time when white men,
coward follows him from place to place, and finally, especially officers, were expected to keep to high
Marlow’s friend, Stein, offers Jim a job in a remote standards. Bravery in the face of danger was perhaps
Malaysian trading-post, at Patusan. the single most important quality a soldier or sailor
At first things go well. Jim succeeds in gaining needed to possess, and an officer who deserted his
people’s trust and respect, and becomes friendly with ship, leaving crew or passengers to die, would lose his
the local chief’s son, Dain Waris. Jim protects the good name and his friends at once.
step-daughter of the evil Cornelius, and the two fall Patusan is an imaginary name for a village, and
in love. It seems that Jim has restored his reputation its surrounding area, deep in the heart of the Malay
and vindicated Marlow’s trust in him. But then Brown Peninsula. Conrad had first-hand knowledge of the
arrives, a wicked sea captain who comes to loot and peninsula from his sailing days. It was part of the
murder. Dutch Empire at the time, and one of the remotest
His sailors kill a Patusan man, and Brown cleverly places in the world. In the seventeenth century, it
spots the weakness in Jim’s nature, persuading him was known to European traders as a good source
to let them leave Patusan unharmed. Cornelius at of pepper, but by the time the story takes place, the
last takes revenge on Jim for taking his job and his pepper trade had died out. It was typical of many
step-daughter, by showing Brown a way of taking the areas under colonial rule, although it was very far from
Patusan defenders unawares. Some Patusan men the seat of government. It was supposed to be ruled
are killed, including Dain Waris, and Jim’s position is by the Sultan, a native prince, but in reality the local
threatened. He knows he must take responsibility for chiefs shared the power between them. There was
the deaths, and so he offers himself unarmed to Dain no effective government, and no police or authorities
Waris’s furious father, who shoots him. to call on, if trouble occurred. In addition, there was
constant fighting among different tribal groups. It
Background to the story
would be difficult to find a more dangerous place for a
The author, Joseph Conrad (1857–1924), was born into
white man to go to alone.
a Polish family who lived in the Ukraine. His parents
died when he was young, so his uncle became his
guardian. At the age of sixteen, he went to sea. He
had many adventures, and later joined the British
merchant navy, becoming a British citizen in 1886.
After twenty years at sea, he came to live in England,
where he wrote many well-known novels, all written

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 STAGE
Lord Jim
4 Pre-reading activity

Match the words with the picture

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

a ‘They were shouting for the one dead man to e ‘I saw that there was nothing I could do.’
jump.’ f ‘How can I always be watching?’ the girl said.
b We were watching an almost full moon rise g ‘You probably don’t realize how important the
behind the black hills. ring is to me,’ Jim said.
c Jim stood there while the judge spoke. h ‘I simply walked in through the gate.’
d ‘I must stay. I shall be faithful.’

To the teacher

Aim: To familiarize students with the setting and 2 Where do you think it is happening?
predict plot 3 What parts of the story can you guess from the
Time: 30 minutes pictures and words?
Organization: Give one copy of the worksheet to Ask students to put the pictures in a suitable order
each student or each pair or group of students. for telling a story. Groups should exchange their
Ask the students to match the picture with the opinions and story ideas. (Do not tell any group that
correct caption. they are right or wrong about the actual plot of
Ask students to look again at the pictures above, the book.)
and discuss: Key: 1g, 2d, 3e, 4c, 5f, 6b, 7a, 8h.
1 What is the date of the story?

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 STAGE
Lord Jim
4 While reading activity

Order the events

EVENT ORDER

a Jim becomes chief mate of the Patna.

b ‘Jewel’ saves Jim’s life one night.

c Captain Brierly kills himself.

d Jim joins the merchant navy.

e Stein offers Jim a job in Patusan.

f Marlow visits Jim in Patusan.

g The captain, two engineers and Jim desert the damaged ship.

h Chester offers to give Jim a job.

I Jim becomes friendly with Dain Waris.

j Jim breaks a leg on board ship, in a storm.

k Jim goes to work in Rangoon.

l Marlow invites Jim to dinner at the Malabar House Hotel.

m Jim defeats Sherif Ali and his men.

n Jim tells the official inquiry what happened to the Patna.

o Jim falls in love with ‘Jewel’.

To the teacher

Where: At the end of Chapter 7 book. When they have completed the re-ordering
Aim: To revise and summarize the story so far exercise, and it has been checked, ask them to tell
Time: 20–30 minutes the story so far in pairs or as a round, adding details
Organization: Give out copies of the worksheet. to make it more interesting. Alternatively you could
The sentences, which make up a summary of the ask them to connect up pairs of sentences with
story, are in the wrong order. Ask students to put suitable linking words.
them in the correct order, referring to the book if they Key: 1d, 2j, 3a, 4g, 5n, 6l, 7c, 8h, 9k, 10e, 11i, 12m,
wish. Remind them that you are interested in the 13b, 14o, 15f.
chronological order of events, which is not always
the same order in which events are presented in the
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 STAGE
Lord Jim
4 After reading activity

Who’s who?

NAME LETTER NAME LETTER

1 Jim 10 Cornelius
2 Marlow 11 The Sultan
3 Jim’s father 12 Rajah Allang
4 The Patna’s captain 13 Doramin
5 The Patna’s chief engineer 14 Sherif Ali
6 Captain Elliot 15 Dain Waris
7 Captain Brierly 16 ‘Jewel’
8 Chester 17 Tam’ Itam
9 Stein 18 Captain Brown

a A lazy, dishonest Portuguese, Stein’s former Patna’s captain.

manager. l A rich German trader, interested in butterflies.
b An Australian who wants to make money out m A man defeated by Jim.
of guano. n The worst of the young Sultan’s uncles.
c The chief harbour official of an Eastern port. o Jim’s personal servant, a Malay.
d A young boy whose uncles have stolen his p One of the judges at the official inquiry.
fortune. q A German sea captain, a large, fat, cruel man.
e One of the most evil seamen in the Pacific. r A man of understanding and experience, a
f A girl who is passionately in love with Jim. friend of Jim’s.
g An old Malay friend of Stein’s.
h Doramin’s only son.
i A strong young man, confident of his bravery.
j An English vicar, a kind man who always does
his duty.
k A well-known drinker and friend of the

To the teacher

Aim: To focus attention back on the characters, and match up the names and the information. See how
revise their names much they can do without referring back to the book.
Time: 20 minutes Key: 1i, 2r, 3j, 4q, 5k, 6c, 7p, 8b, 9l, 10a, 11d, 12n,
Organization: Give each student or group of 13g, 14m, 15h, 16f, 17o, 18e.
students a copy of the worksheet. Ask them to

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