The Lagoon Group

Question:

manryclint
manryclint
Student
High School - 12th Grade

In "The Lagoon," how is it that Arsat and the White Man are friends?

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Posted by manryclint on Thursday April 16, 2009 at 5:53 AM and tagged with arsat, characters, friends, the lagoon, white man.

Answers:


  1. kc4u Teacher
    College - Senior

    eNotes Editor

    In Joseph Conrad's short story "The Lagoon," we have a cross-racial friendship at the heart of the story, but throughout the story, there is very little of background information about the characters in the story. Even the back-story of Arsat's love and escape is very sketchily told. As far as the relation between Arsat and the White Man is concerned, not much has been told. We are only made to know that the two of them came to know each other through some war and Arsat had saved the life of the White Man, when it was endangered in course of the war. So, in that respect, one can see the White Man's journey into the lagoon as a return-trip, driven by his sense of gratitude.

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    Posted by kc4u on Monday November 2, 2009 at 2:57 AM