1. The story is about a boy Sorry that lives on an island in the Bikini Atoll at the end of WWII. His island is occupied at first by Japanese, then by Americans. The Japanese are eventually pushed out and the war is over for America, but not Sorry and his friends and family. Scientists want to test out their new bomb technology on the island. Eventually everyone leaves except Sorry, who rides out into the fleet of sips being used as a test target in order to draw attention to him and stop the destruction of his home. His plan fails and he dies.
2. Sometimes, if the world is against you, and you fight alone, the world wins.
3. The author's tone seems kind of confused, which adds to the story because the main character doesn't seem to know what is actually going on, and is constantly wanting to learn more.
"He did not know how long he could contain his anger, He did know that if any soldier raped (his sister) he would use the ax, no matter what might happen to him."
"From that plane trip to Rongerik, Sorry knew it was easy to see things from the air. He'd seen the schools of tuna. The men in the bomber would be able to see him down on the lagoon."
"Three mornings after the U.S. planes flew over the island, Sorry, who had gotten up to go fishing while it was still dark, broke the silence with a shout: 'Ships! Ships!'"
4. Symbolism:
-Protagonist's NAME= Sorry
-Atoll= paradise/sanctuary
-American soldiers= war propaganda
- Bomb= uncontrollable, unstoppable danger people deal with
-scars on shark and Abram= problems people live with after confrontation
-second encounter with shark= everyone is hurt by conflict, even when there is a clear winner and clear loser
-target fleet= power of American government
-love of little sister= extension of self into other people
-journey back to island= powerlessness of one person
Simile- Azakel compares island people to children of Israel (pg 80)
Characterization
1. The author uses indirect characterization to describe characters. "The living reef and all life around it would be there tomorrow, as it had been for more years than a man could count, Sorry knew. Tiny animals made the coral from seawater lime, then died, leaving their empty dwellings to be filled with hidden food." This shows that Sorry is in tune with nature and knows how nature works. He also uses indirect characterization to describe unimportant characters, like how he describes the small children in the very beginning of the book.
2. The pace slows down when the author talks about character. When talking about action, everything seems to happen quickly.
3. The protagonist is static and flat. He doesn't change much throughout the story, he gains new knowledge, but that doesn't change his personality as much as his actions. He doesn't have any fatal flaws other than underestimating the power of the atom bomb.
4. I feel like I met a person, because the author did a great job in describing the characters and making their thought processes make sense.
tsk tsk
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