Analysis of "The Raft"

Since the first spark of human life, coming-of-age has even occurred at the time of Adam and Eve. Many people think that the only part of maturing is puberty. However, one of the greatest parts of growing up is not, surprisingly, going through puberty. Coming-of-age involves recognizing different perspectives.

The son had loved his father dearly but does not favor his way of life. His interest in school greatly outweighed his interest or desire to work on ‘The Boat’. He still had a love for the sea and in some way felt like he should carry out his family’s tradition. After his uncle had accepted a new job he took his position on the boat and promised his father that we would continue to sail with him for as long as he lived, and when his father passed despite the desires of his mother he followed his dreams and pursued education and all of its wonders. After living his life he finds himself longing for the sea again and isn’t so satisfied with his life.

This metaphor is comparing the actual birth of her son to a dangerous journey, which is saying that he was fearless and that the speaker was expecting a very successful life journey for he son. This makes the boy’s death feel even more tragic because the reader gets to see how the speaker felt towards her son and what she expected his future to be like. The second metaphor presented in the poem comes about when the speaker is describing the moments after the boy slipped off the bank into the water and got taken by currents:

In the short story, “The Boat” by Alistair Macleod, symbolism is used to represent an abstract idea. The boat, being a major symbol of the story was the way of life for the family. As the story goes on, the boat starts to make the family feel confined giving them a choice to leave or stay with the boat. There were symbols that impacted the story that had connection towards the boat. Chain bracelets, the father’s clothes, the books that the father read are all symbols that tied to the boat. The father's chain bracelets and clothes represent the father feeling trapped as a fisherman since he never changes out of them. We find out more about the characters and their personal connection with the boat and the other symbols and what it means to them. The family starts to fall apart due to the kids learning about the father’s books leading to them moving away from home. Symbolism is used when one thing is meant to represent something else adding meaning and emotion to the story which is well represented throughout the story.

A main theme of this book, is the importance of living in the present, instead of dwelling on the past. Many of the characters in this novel carried a nostalgic perspective on life, and it influenced their attitude towards the present. It was very common for the characters to tell stories from their past. Jim often relates incidents in the present, to things that happened to him in the past. Jim is not the only one focusing on the past, however. For example, Peter, one of the Russian immigrants, has a very romanticized idea of the past, which causes him to have a depressed attitude towards the present. Jim observed this on one particular meeting, “Once, while [Peter] was looking at Ántonia, he sighed and told us that if he had stayed at home in Russia perhaps by this time he would have had a pretty daughter of his own to cook and keep house for him.” Peter allowed the idea of ‘what if I had...’ to interfere with his future. Because of the adults "what if" attitude, the teens of this novel have a sense of urgency in their lives. They witness how nostalgic the adults, and they themselves, are becoming, and come to a realization. The good days are the first to pass, and the most fleeting. Jim takes this as an excuse to be nostalgic on the past, a past he was not even there to witness. He looked at the wilderness of his new home, and fantasized about how wonderful it’s past was, “Beyond the pond, on the slope that climbed to the cornfield, there was, faintly marked in the grass, a great circle where the Indians used to ride. Jake and Otto were sure that when they galloped round that ring the Indians tortured prisoners, bound to a stake in the centre; but grandfather thought they merely ran races or trained horses there. […] The old figure stirred me as it had never done before.” Jim looks at the past with wonderment - it is a place that was much more ideal than his present. Unlike him,

Authors often create texts that share common themes to teach readers importance of certain aspects and hardships of life. Theme may be expressed through an author’s use of rhetorical devices and many other contributing factors such as figurative language and repetition. The essay, “Once More to the Lake” written by E.B. White and the poem “Forgetfulness” written by Billy Collins, both contain a theme of identity loss. In “Once More to the Lake” E.B White connects to a lake at young age and when returning with his son years later is unable to identify himself. In similar theme “Forgetfulness” describes different factors of human life and everyday things being forgotten and lost. Both White and Collins use repetition and metaphors to further push the theme of identity loss throughout the texts.

I kept remembering everything, lying in bed in the mornings—the small steamboat that had a long rounded stern like the lip of a Ubangi, and how quietly she ran on the moonlight sails, when the older boys played their mandolins and the girls sang and we ate doughnuts dipped in sugar, and how sweet the music was on the water in the shining night, and what it had felt like to think about girls then. (line 26)

The final theme of memory is shown as Granny weaves in and out of reality and memories of her past. She seems to find strength from being left at the alter and then finds comfort in the memories of her late husband, John, and her children. The memories of the other man make her a bit uneasy with thoughts that her children would find the letters in the attic. There is one moment that she actually wants to tell her daughter to find George and “be sure and tell him I forgot him.”

The men at the bottom of the image represent the workers of the middle and lower class, struggling to survive. As they support the raft, the workers fight to hold the nation and businessmen up. In their struggle, pain is evident.

A young boy sits on the floor gazing up in amusement as his parents tell him stories that have traveled from generation to generation. Whether it be a tale of malicious war or brave acts of heroism, the little boy will always remember the impactful tales. But what about the parents; what is their motive for telling tales to their child? People tell stories for different reasons; a best selling author may write his story to sell books. While a parent tells a story to set their child straight, others simply want the thrill of telling tales of their adventurous life. For The Tao Jones ,or TJ, in Chris Crutcher's Whale Talk, the most impactful story he will hear and tell is his own. Someone might not solely tell their own story but, are also able to tell the story of those around them. Superficially, TJ’s story is one of brutal negativity and oppression. However, beneath the surface TJ and other peoples’ tale, is one of the unbreakable bond of brotherhood, unique self identity, and last chance at redemption.

Notwithstanding their partner’s contempt of reading and writing, both the father in “The Boat,” and the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” continue to search for reprieve through their respective books and diary.

the story to describe these kids and one of the ways he does this is through the theme war leads to destruction showing the true inner evil even in the most innocent things in life.He uses the idea of war as his main plot point and the perfect medium to connect the crashing of the plane to being rescued by a naval officer. When the boys crash on the island due to being attacked, they were ironically rescued by a naval officer preparing to go back

Furthermore, the novel illustrates the unrestricted freedom the river provides through the connection with nature, independence from slavery, and the pair’s relationship. After escaping the clutches of the restrictive lifestyle of Miss Watson and the violent relationship with his father, Huck seeks refuge in the waters surrounding himself with nature, considering it as his home as he proclaims, “...there warn’t no home like the raft…Other places feel so cramped and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft” (Twain 117). As Jim escapes from civilization towards life on the raft where open friendship and freedom that the river provides overcome prejudice against racism and slavery, he grows as an individual as he declares risking his life and freedom for Huck, “my heart wuz mos’' broke bekase you wuz los’, en I didn' k'yer no mo'

A horrible epiphany of the truth about the plantation strikes the grandmother which then leads her family and herself to a mishap. It is significant that the story reveals how nowadays, circumstances are getting worse because before, everything was fine and this produces a positive effect to the young characters such as the grandchildren. Having said that, this is also the reason why they get into a misadventure where they encounter their vicious murderers.

“The Open Boat” is short tale of endurance, suffering, and redemption. The story focuses on four interesting sailors on a journey towards survival. They try their best to overcome the adversities of the water and raging storm. Crane focuses on the constant struggle of man’s immobility to control his own life. “The Open Boat” is a nonfictional fiction some call it. It typically is argued as only fiction, but many lean toward its nonfictional quality. Crane wrote the story based off his real life experience of a shipwreck he tragically endured. The Commodore, the name of the ship, was the victim of the waves and Crane just so happened to be one of its friends. He wrote 2 articles based on this tragedy, but “The Open Boat” became the best