Introduction to Conrad's Lord Jim
Deterministic approaches in psychology, religion, and science suggest inherent and often compelling impulses motivating human behavior. Man's desire for self-awareness forces him into the recesses of the unconscious for answers from his primordial past. Life often appears unfair, and so does death, but what shall we do? We continue to give, love, and forgive because we live. There is no other standard, save faith and courage.The sinner's quest for spiritual perfection presupposes a moral struggle between good and man's innately evil predisposition, calling for a type of death and rebirth ordeal much like the stages of separation -transformation-and –return in the individual's plight for emotional fulfillment. On the scientific level, a person's primitive instincts manifest themselves in patterns of dominance and submission, corresponding with theories of natural selection or survival of the fittest. Ironically, all three disciples embody the notion that these "ancient psychic remnants" manifest themselves either through repression or sublimation. To the philosopher, these influences frequently serve as the basis for a hero's tragic fate. Indeed the ideas of Darwin, Freud, and Marx have been used to justify the cruel exploitation of racial groups on numerous occasions. In this respect, Joseph Conrad's novel Lord Jim explores these avenues of understanding, making his sad tale of adventure at sea a landmark work for students of naturalism, theology, and psychoanalysis. Thus, Jim serves as Conrad's fallen archetypal Adam compelled to create an existential order from the ruins of a failed utilitarian regime.