How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"[F]or it is my belief no man ever understands quite his own artful dodges to escape from the grim shadow of self-knowledge." (7.6)
Ah the powers of repression. Jim is a master at hiding from himself and his demons, and he manages to avoid facing up to his choice for much of the novel. Sure, he sounds like he's facing it, what with going to trial and everything. But every time he chooses to run from his past, by quitting job after job, he shows us he's not quite ready to deal with it yet.
Quote #5
"'Ah! what a chance missed! My God! what a chance missed!' he blazed out, but the ring of the last 'missed' resembled a cry wrung out by pain." (7.11)
Poor Jim. The choices he does not make haunt him just as much as the ones he does.
Quote #6
"'You think me a cur for standing there, but what would you have done? What! You can't tell – nobody can tell. One must have time to turn round. What would you have me do?'" (8.8)
Jim is ashamed of his choice, sure, but he also thinks that his choice is perfectly understandable. Choices require some deliberation; is it his fault that he didn't have time to make a good one?