the lagoon by joseph conrad
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visual aid presentation about joseph conrad's the lagoon for humanities 1.TRANSCRIPT
THE LAGOONJoseph Conrad
The Lagoon at a glance
Short story with elements of realism, adventure, and romanticism
Composed in 1896 and first published in Cornhill Magazine in 1897
Settings (Places) Southeast Asia (Malay peninsula or
Malay archipelago) on a river flowing eastward to the ocean
On a creek flowing inland through dense forest
At a small house on a lagoon
Characters
The White Man – traveler who captains a sampan propelled by Malay oarsmen
- Unidentified by a given name or surname
- Addressed as Tuan (sir or mister) by Arsat
Arsat – protagonist, Malay who has been living in a small house on a lagoon with his wife Diamelen, who was once a servant of a rajah’s wife
- They fell in love and eloped and were chased by the rajah’s men
Diamelen – Arsat’s wife who is dying
Arsat’s brother – young man who appears in a flashback story told by Arsat
- Arsat says he died while helping him and Diamelen escape from the rajah’s men
The Juragan – steersmen of the white man’s boat
Rajah – ruler in the land of the Malays- Mentioned in the flashback story Inchi Midah – Rajah’s wife Rajah’s warriors – chased Arsat, his wife
and killed his brother
Themes
Remorse – shown when Arsat abandoned his brother to die in the hands of the Rajah’s men; attributed Diamelen’s illness and death to it
Selfishness – when Arsat claims Diamelen and runs away without stopping and looking back to his brother
Stagnation – “The creek broadened, opening out into a wide sweep of a stagnant lagoon.”
- Lagoon = life of Arsat and Diamelen since their arrival in the isolated forest dwelling
- Life was lonely, uneventful, and motionless because of Arsat’s guilt
Ever-present past – Arsat has been unable to forget the past and it still haunts him until now
- Arsat says, “[Y]ou have seen me in time of danger, seek death as other men seek life! A writing may be lost; a lie may be written; but what the eye has seen is truth and remains in the mind!”
Narration
Third person POV Midway – narrator presents lengthy
quotations in which Arsat tells the most important part of the story (death of brother during their escape)
Arsat’s account is in first
person POV
Structure
1. The white man travels to Arsat’s dwelling and discovers that Arsat’s wife is dying. (somber tone and atmosphere of the story)
2.Through flashback, Arsat tells the story of how he eloped with Diamelen with the help of his brother and how his brother died when the Rajah’s men chased them.
3. Diamelen dies. Arsat prepares to avenge his brother’s death as the white man leaves.
Climax
Diamelen dies Forced Arsat to confront his inner
demons and to prepare himself for avenging his brother’s death
“We were sons of the same mother – and I left him in the midst of enemies; but I am going back now…In a little while I shall see clear enough to strike – to strike.”
Figures of Speech
Alliteration – repetition of constant sound
- somber and dull, stood motionless and silent on each side of the broad stream
- but her big eyes; wide open, glittered in the gloom,
- sunset put out by the swift and stealthy shadows
Anaphora – repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of word groups occurring one after the other
- In the stillness of the air every tree, every leaf, every bough, every tendril of creeper and every petal of minute blossoms seemed to have been bewitched into an immobility perfect and final
Metaphor – comparison of unlike things without using like, as, than, or as if
- The earth…became…a battle-field of phantoms
- Darkness oozed out from between the trees
Paradox – contradictory statement that may actually be true
- there’s no worse enemy and no better friend that a brother…
Simile – comparison of unlike things using like, as, than, or as if
- Water that shone smoothly like a band of metal- A twisted root of some tall tree…writhing and
motionless, like an arrested snake
Vocabulary
Nibong, nipa – palm trees of Asia with leaves that can be used to make a roof
Prau – Malayan boat with a triangular sail and an outrigger
Sampan – small boat with
stem-mounted oar used for steering
Sarong – Malay garment of men and women
- Consists of single length of cloth that is wrapped at the waist and may extend to the knees or ankles
Tuan – Malay term for sir or mister