Chapter 1 Response

In the first chapter, Boyle subtly introduces characters and themes of the novel. Beverly, a passenger on an ill-fated voyage to the Channel Islands on a ship bearing her own name, is Alma’s grandmother who has just married Till, a war veteran. Despite her femininity and delicacy compared to her husband and brother-in-law, Beverly is actually the most observant and insightful of the small crew. She is ultimately the one who notices the water seeping into the cabin, uses the Sears-Roebuck cooler to float, and reaches safety on an island despite incredible obstacles. In making Beverly the sole survivor of the shipwreck, Boyle can examine ideas about natural selection and what “fitness” truly means. Beverly, in surviving is the individual best suited for her environment and in that sense is almost like the rats that invaded the island years ago. Boyle alludes to another theme of his novel when Beverly recalls her high school English teacher, Mrs. Parminter, who can recite romantic poetry and advises her students to “let all the creatures be.” Choosing Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is perfect in many ways. It is a romantic poem and romantic poets emphasized the conflict between man and nature. The Coleridge poem in particular stresses punishment for the killing of an innocent albatross; an idea that is a counterpoint to Boyle’s novel, which examines whether killing a species is necessary to preserve indigenous species. Finally, Boyle’s writing style is very personal, almost akin to stream-of-consciousness, and alternately addresses the reader by using the second person tense and moves into the minds of his characters by using the third person limited. Though the tenses and thoughts shift quickly, the prose is not hard to follow as the ideas are interconnected.

Vocabulary:

Copepods - a group of crustaceans found in the sea and in nearly every freshwater habitat

Firmament - the vault or expanse of the sky