# XLIV explained — Lord Jim

> Chapter companion for Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad.

## What happens

Brown executes a treacherous attack on the Bugis camp, killing Dain Waris. Tamb' Itam witnesses the massacre and later kills Cornelius. He then brings the news to the fort.

## Themes in this chapter

### Judgment and Redemption

Brown's massacre is framed as a 'retribution' and 'demonstration of some obscure and awful attribute of our nature,' blurring lines between justice and vengeance.

### The Nature of Courage and Cowardice

Cornelius's abject submission and Tamb' Itam's calculated actions contrast with the panic of the Bugis warriors.

## Character check-ins

### Gentleman Brown

Leads the ambush on the Bugis camp, killing Dain Waris, and later vanishes.

### Cornelius

Forced to guide Brown's men; later killed by Tamb' Itam after the attack.

### Tamb' Itam

Witnesses the massacre, kills Cornelius, and rushes to bring news to the fort.

### Dain Waris

Killed by a bullet during Brown's ambush.

## Key lines

> Thus Brown balanced his account with the evil fortune. Notice that even in this awful outbreak there is a superiority as of a man who carries right⁠—the abstract thing⁠—within the envelope of his common desires.

Brown settled his score with bad luck, and even in this terrible act he seemed to carry a sense of moral rightness wrapped up in his ordinary wants.

_Marlow reflects on Brown's self-justification for the massacre._

> Twice I struck, Tuan,' he said. 'When he beheld me approaching he cast himself violently on the ground and made a great outcry, kicking. He screeched like a frightened hen till he felt the point; then he was still, and lay staring at me while his life went out of his eyes.'

Tamb' Itam recounts killing Cornelius: he struck twice, and Cornelius screamed and kicked until the blade entered, then went still and stared as he died.

_Tamb' Itam describes his execution of Cornelius._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/lord_jim_se/chapters/xliv
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/lord_jim_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/lord_jim_se/chapters