Only the boat hasn't sunk...it somehow manages to limp into port and Jim is left with tangible evidence of his cowardice. To leave your ship is an unpardonable sin, but psychologically it is not a rule or regulation that strips Jim of his dignity it is his own base humanity that chose flight over honor. Jim is haunted by this one pivotal moment in his life and spends the rest of his life running from the memory of his sin. From port to port he takes jobs far beneath is competency in order to hide in their anonymity.