Last Week, the grade nines from our school got the opportunity to visit Bamfield Marine Sciences Center. Though much of what we did was focused on Science, we also read two pieces of writing, one a short story and one a section of the full novel. These two pieces were chosen because of our location and the connection that we would all have to these stories.
The Sea Devil
By: Arthur Gordan
The Sea Devil. A creature that every child knows about, and fears. A massive beast that lives in the sea, but only comes out at night. Arthur Gordon, through a very short piece of writing, managed to evoke emotion and change it throughout the whole short story. Through Gordon never provided a name for the protagonist, he managed to make "the man," well known to his readers, based on his emotions and actions. Personally I felt that I could not relate to "the man" at all, but the emotion still came across. The theme that Gordon set across was something along the lines of man vs. nature. How no matter what an individual does, they are forever inferior to the superiority of nature. I say this specifically because of one line in the story, "Now at last he knew how the fish must feel when the line tightens and drags him toward the alien element that is his doom. Now he knew." Being at Bamfield when I read this piece of writing, I found it incredibly easy to envision the story. I could imagine where "the man" was when he was fighting to survive. It really helped to put the full story into perspective and to put myself into the protagonist's shoes. There was also a strong message that was portrayed, which was centered around the famous quote, "what goes around, comes around." Once again I realized this because of the quote that I stated above. Overall this story is filled with emotion and imagery that will leave you wanting more!
This piece of writing is actually a full novel, but for times sake, our class only read the first two chapters. So I haven't read the whole novel, but I am planning on reading it.
Whale Song (The Whale Story)
By: Cheryl Kaye Tardiff
In the beginning of Whale Song the protagonist, Sarah Maria Richardson, is an 11 year old girl, who has to move from her beloved home in Wyoming, USA, to Bamfield, Canada. At first I thought that there was absolutely no way that I would be able to connect to Sarah, considering her age. Surprisingly, I found that I did indeed have a lot in common with Sarah. Her emotion and her behaviour very well relate to how I would act if put into her situation. Even if you couldn't relate to the protagonist, the author made sure that you would at least have some sort of understanding and maybe be able to sympathize with Sarah. Since I only read the very beginning, discussing the them is proving to be difficult. With what I have read so far, I have concluded that the theme of this story is going to be something about valuing and appreciating what you own or what is given to you, because you never know how long it will stay with you. Maybe this will change as the story progresses, but for now, that is what I got out of the first two chapters. The part that I read takes part in Bamfield, British Columbia, Canada. Considering that I was in Bamfield when I read the first two chapters of the story, I found it quite easy to envision what was going on in the story. Well at least what the background look like. It was easy to envision the tall forests surrounding the car and seeing the ocean go all the way to the horizon, as if it were never-ending. I thought that the description that the author provided was indeed quite accurate and I feel that Bamfield was an excellent place to be the base for her story. Overall, I think that I would enjoy the whole novel if I decided to read it, and based on what I read, I think you would too!
The Sea Devil
By: Arthur Gordan
The Sea Devil. A creature that every child knows about, and fears. A massive beast that lives in the sea, but only comes out at night. Arthur Gordon, through a very short piece of writing, managed to evoke emotion and change it throughout the whole short story. Through Gordon never provided a name for the protagonist, he managed to make "the man," well known to his readers, based on his emotions and actions. Personally I felt that I could not relate to "the man" at all, but the emotion still came across. The theme that Gordon set across was something along the lines of man vs. nature. How no matter what an individual does, they are forever inferior to the superiority of nature. I say this specifically because of one line in the story, "Now at last he knew how the fish must feel when the line tightens and drags him toward the alien element that is his doom. Now he knew." Being at Bamfield when I read this piece of writing, I found it incredibly easy to envision the story. I could imagine where "the man" was when he was fighting to survive. It really helped to put the full story into perspective and to put myself into the protagonist's shoes. There was also a strong message that was portrayed, which was centered around the famous quote, "what goes around, comes around." Once again I realized this because of the quote that I stated above. Overall this story is filled with emotion and imagery that will leave you wanting more!
This piece of writing is actually a full novel, but for times sake, our class only read the first two chapters. So I haven't read the whole novel, but I am planning on reading it.
Whale Song (The Whale Story)
By: Cheryl Kaye Tardiff
In the beginning of Whale Song the protagonist, Sarah Maria Richardson, is an 11 year old girl, who has to move from her beloved home in Wyoming, USA, to Bamfield, Canada. At first I thought that there was absolutely no way that I would be able to connect to Sarah, considering her age. Surprisingly, I found that I did indeed have a lot in common with Sarah. Her emotion and her behaviour very well relate to how I would act if put into her situation. Even if you couldn't relate to the protagonist, the author made sure that you would at least have some sort of understanding and maybe be able to sympathize with Sarah. Since I only read the very beginning, discussing the them is proving to be difficult. With what I have read so far, I have concluded that the theme of this story is going to be something about valuing and appreciating what you own or what is given to you, because you never know how long it will stay with you. Maybe this will change as the story progresses, but for now, that is what I got out of the first two chapters. The part that I read takes part in Bamfield, British Columbia, Canada. Considering that I was in Bamfield when I read the first two chapters of the story, I found it quite easy to envision what was going on in the story. Well at least what the background look like. It was easy to envision the tall forests surrounding the car and seeing the ocean go all the way to the horizon, as if it were never-ending. I thought that the description that the author provided was indeed quite accurate and I feel that Bamfield was an excellent place to be the base for her story. Overall, I think that I would enjoy the whole novel if I decided to read it, and based on what I read, I think you would too!
