1. The Lagoon
Q.1. Is the Lagoon a short story?
Ans. Joseph Conrad's The Lagoon has a definite plot of a striking tale of human passion,
of a last for life and love and the frustration of a longing heart. The plot with limited
number of characters (two mainly) has perfect unity through brevity inspite of
embracing two distinct incidents of different times. It has an organic structure by joing
and synthesizing through the presence of white man with symbolic Malaya setting the
Lagoon Cornad exploits the technique of a story within frame – story.
Q 2. What is a Lagoon? Explain the significance of the title of the short story The Lagoon.
Ans. The word Lagoon ( for latin lacuna, Spanish laguna) means a stretch of salt water
parted from the sea by the low sandbank. It implies a shallow lake or pond.
The Lagoon provides like Egdon Heath in Hardy's The return of the Native a
necessary and impressive bachdrop o f the story that has a mysterious as well tragic
appeal . The main event of Diamelens death and Arsat's realization of the stark illusion
of the world was enacted on the lagoon. The lagoon also symbolizes the life of Arsat
and Diamelen who lived a life of complete isolation from the world outside.
{Symbolically, the lagoon represents the present state of Arsat's mind, a state of illusion
of 'a country where death was unknown' and fear born out of a selfish obsession.
Diamelen's death shatters that illusion.
Q 3. Where did the men on the boat really want to spent the night ? Why did they want
so ?
Ans. The simple, superstitious, natives Malayan men on the boat really wanted to spend
the night somewhere else, but not in the isolated lagoon where Arsat and Diamelen
lived. They disliked Arsat as a stranger and secondly they believed that some evil spirits
who dwelt in the lagoon were at beck and call of Arsat.
Q 4. "We will pass the night in Arsat's clearing "----
Who is the speaker? Who are referred to here by ‘we’? what is the meaning of clearing?
Ans. The speaker of the line is Tuan, the white man. Tuan and the steermen of the
boatare referred to here by ‘we’. ‘Cleaing’ refers to an area in forest cleared for
cultivation or dwelling.
Q. 5. Describe Arsat’s physical appearance .
Ans. A man of the race of the warriors, Arsat the protagonist in Conrad’s The Lagoon is a
young man with shout figure having broad chest and muscular arms. His eyes were large
but polite. His voice was mild and gentle. He was bareheaded and wore only his
‘sarong’.
Q . 6. Mention four Malayan words and their meaning used in The Lagoon.
Ans. Joseph Conrad’s short story The Lagoon makes use of some Malay words because
of its Malayan setting and characters. Some of them are –
• ’Nibong’ – e.i., a kind of palm that grows in that region. It soars up high in the
sky.

2. • Prau – a kind first-moving big boat used by Malayans in the sea and the river. ( it
is fitted with sails. It can also be paddled by a number of steersmen when the
wind is not sufficient.
• Mara Bahia – a Malay expression meaning ‘O calamity’.
• ‘Juragan – a Malayan term meaning ‘streesrman’. He is the chief member of the
crew.
Q .7. “ Malay only grunted “ – who was the Malay ? what is the meaning of ‘grunted’ ?
why did he do so ?
Ans. The Malay was a native of the Malay peninsula , the steersman of the boat which
was carrying Tuan to Arsat’s house. ‘Grunted ‘ means a low, rough sound like that of a
pig expressing disagreement or irritation or anger.
The Malay grunted because he disliked the idea of passing the night at Arsat’s
place in the lagoon which is believed to be haunted by evil spirits. He disliked Arsat as a
stranger as well as dwelt in a ruined hut in the isolated lagoon. The Malay believed that
he might be in league with evil spirits.
Q . 8 “ He liked the man “ – Who is ‘he’ and who is the man ? Why did like him?
Ans. ‘He’ in Conrad’s The lagoon is the white man, Tuan and ‘the man’ is Arsat, a Malay
and the protagonist.
The white man liked Arsat because he knew how to keep fait in council and how
to fight courageously without fear by his side. That is why he came occasionally to pass
the night in his hut.
Q . 9. ‘ She burns no more’ – Who is she? What image is used here to refer to her
condition?
Ans. In Conrad’s The Lagoon ‘she’ is diameles the beloved of Arsat is at the moment of
her final departure from this world. Conrad has employed a superb imagery of fire. Fire
that burns at the cost of fuel has been presented to describe life. The fire like the life of
Diamelen is going to extinguish for the fuel is consumed.
Q .10. what is the journey motif in The Lagoon?
Ans. Like his Heart of Darkness, in Conrad’s The lagoon there sre different layers of the
motif of journey. The first is the physical journey – white man journey to the lagoon the
second is psychological journey – journey to Arsat’s heart and his realization to fail to
perform his duty which begets the implied journey to hell – a religious journey.