The Third and Final Continent

This study guide will help you analyze the short story “The Third and Final Continent” by Jhumpa Lahiri. You can also find a summary of the text, as well as inspiration for interpreting it and putting it into perspective.

Presentation of the text

Title: “The Third and Final Continent” (1999)
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
Genre: Short story

Jhumpa Lahiri (b. 1967) is an American author famous for her novels and short stories. The short story “The Third and Final Continent” is part of a short-story collection titled Interpreter of Maladies, for which Lahiri won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Extract

Below, you can read an extract from our study guide:

Similes and metaphors

The simile “hair (…) like a small sack on top of her head” (p. 3, l. 26) describes Mrs. Croft’s appearance and the narrator’s first impression of her, which does not seem too flattering. Similarly, the simile “long black skirt that spread like a stiff tent to the floor” (p. 3, ll. 29-30) hints at Mrs. Croft’s insistence on dressing in an old-fashioned way and her stiffness of character. Her dislike of modern short skirts is mentioned several times in the text.

Helen, Mrs. Croft’s daughter, is describes via the similes “spectacles on a chain that hung like a swing against her chest” (p. 9, ll. 7-8) and “her upper arms sagged like the flesh of a roasted eggplant” (p. 9, l. 9). These similes show how the narrator is carefully studying everything in his new country to adapt. They also help describe Helen to us.

The metaphor of the “honeymoon” (p. 18, l. 3) hints at the connection between the narrator and Mala, who end up falling in love with each other and finally act like husband and wife.