Macbeth And Lord Jim Essay Research Paper

Macbeth And Lord Jim Essay, Research Paper

Realization of one s imminent death can drastically change an individual. Knowing that death is imminent can change the way we look at things, and cause us to confess our sins. In Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad and Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the main characters experience this trauma. The instant that Jim jumps from the Patna, his life becomes a series of lies that will tamper with him for the rest of his life. He cannot confess the cowardly act that plagues him incessantly and, thus, he is controlled by his hidden secret. Only when he realizes that he is going to die does Jim face the lie. In parallel, Macbeth also is controlled by a lie. Macbeth s murder of Duncan ignites a guilt inside of him that can only be confronted before he fights Macduff. Macbeth also needs to face the false promises that the witches gave him. These promises give Macbeth a false sense of security which help lead to his demise. Macbeth, like Jim, is badgered by a singular act that prevents him from living an honest life. However, both men are able to redeem themselves prior to their deaths. By confronting the lies and dying with dignity, the two men are able to regain some of their honor. The similarity between the two works emphasizes the effect of lies on the way an individual lives, and further stresses the internal struggle that Jim faced after he had jumped from the Patna. In their respective stories, Jim and Macbeth face the lies that dictated their lives and, consequentially, die with some of the dignity and honor that they had once experienced in their lives. This process is described as each man realizes and confronts his lies, faces the fatal consequences, and eventually dies.

The most significant point in Lord Jim and Macbeth is the respective main character s realization of his lies. The realization of the lies begin by a singular drastic event that catches both men by surprise. When Tamb Itam explains to Jim about Dain Waris death, Jim is shocked. Jim separates himself from everyone else to ponder both the past and the present.

What thoughts passed through his head – what memories. Who can tell. Everything was gone, and he who had been once unfaithful to his trust had lost again all men s confidence. It was then I believe, he tried to write – to somebody and gave it up. Loneliness was closing on him. People had trusted him with their lives – only for that; and yet they could never, as he had said, never be made to understand him (Conrad 302).

Jim ponders everything and knows what he must do. When Jewel screams for him to fight, Marlow describes, There was nothing to fight for. He was going to prove his power in another way and conquer the fatal destiny itself (Conrad 302). He decided that he would put everything that he had happened in his past and face his fate. He faced the fact that his life had been filled with situations where he avoided adversity and never became the hero that he wanted to be. Jim accepted what he had done in the past and was willing to submit to his fate and hoped to regain some dignity before he died. For a majority of Jim s life, he was engulfed in personal shame for jumping from the Patna and leaving so many people behind. As Gentleman Brown said, Jim was a hollow man. Facing his death could help to bury his past. In Macbeth, Macduff s confrontation with Macbeth is parallel to Tamb Itam s visit to Jim. Both Macduff and Tamb Itam surprise Macbeth and Jim respectively. When Macbeth faces Macduff, he is brimming with confidence because he thinks that he is immortal.

Macbeth:

Let fall thy blade on vulnerable crests;

I bear a charmed life, which must not yield

To one of woman born.

Macduff:

And let the angel whom thou still hast served

Tell thee Macduff was from his mother s womb

Untimely ripped. (Shakespeare V, viii, 14 – 20)

When Macduff tells Macbeth that he was no actually born of woman, Macbeth realizes that the three witches have lied to him about his mortality and that he will die. He says, And be these juggling fiends no more believed,/That keep the word of promise to our ear,/And break it to our hope. (Shakespeare V, viii, 23 – 25). The shock and utter horror that Macbeth experienced was similar to that which Jim felt when Tamb Itam told him about Dain Waris. The feeling of devastation that both men felt nearly instantaneously caused the men to confront the lies that they had endured. The similarities between the two scenes emphasizes the feelings that Jim was having when he accepted his past.

The second stage of Jim facing his lies is his confrontation with Doramin. When Jim approached Doramin s campong, the surrounding people were originally in awe. The feeling of awe was soon replaced by admiration. The people were very pleased to see that Jim had come to accept responsibility.

He came! He came was running from lip to lip, making a murmur to which he moved. He hath taken it upon his own head, a voice said aloud. He heard this and turned to the crows. Yes. Upon my head. A few people recoiled. Jim waited awhile before Doramin, and then said, I am come in sorrow. He waited again. I am come ready and unarmed. he repeated. (Conrad 307).

Jim has gained back the respect the Patusanians that looked up to him. Jim is gaining a dignity and pride which, since he jumped from the Patna,