Vernon, Or Vern, By His Mother Inherited The Blackstone Farm

When dawn broke, he had a clear view of the river, which was a good hundred fifty feet from his back porch doorsteps. Even in the worst of rainy seasons, he 'd never had to worry about the rise of the river; the gentle slope of the land raised the cabin well above flood level. In the nearly thirty years he 'd lived there, river water had never risen high enough to reach the 160-year-old cabin that once housed the overseer of the old Caledonia Plantation.

It was Clayton who climbed up and freed the boat, and Bud, a tall fat boy, who got the weight of it on his back to turn it into the water so that they could half float, half carry it to shore. All this took some time. Eva and Carol abandoned their log and waded out of the water. They walked overland to get their shoes and socks and bicycles. They did not need to come back this way but they came. They stood at the top of the hill, leaning on their bicycles. They did not go on home, but they did not sit down and frankly watch, either. They stood more or less facing each other, but glancing down at the water and at the boys struggling with the boat, as if they had just halted for a moment out of curiosity, and staying longer than they intended, to see what came of this unpromising project.

Every so often in life we encounter an opportunity to take a shortcut, to circumvent the traditional path, and attempt to reach our goals without the customary planning, patience, and hard work that invariably goes into any worthwhile endeavor. One such opportunity presented itself in the late summer of 2007, when I was hired to deliver the 38-foot Island Packet cutter Guinevere from Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands, to Bradenton, Florida. By then I had over thirty years’ experience as a licensed captain, ocean yacht master, and certified sailing instructor, and so when I was persuaded to take a shortcut through Passage Key Inlet and ran aground, I immediately realized I should, all along, have trusted my training and instincts.

The book is littered with explanations about fishing. I admit that I frequently got lost in these passages. This knowledge is an important element of the story. When a component of the boat malfunctions, readers know the significance of this to the sailors. Without this, the book would have provided a message that only other sailors could understand. Junger, by supplying this information, wants to make sure that all readers can fully grasp the danger and suspense of the book.

“Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” At some point in life one is faced with a decision which will define the future, but only time will tell whether or not the choice was right or wrong. The Boat by Alistair MacLeod demonstrates that an individual should make their own decisions in life, be open to new experiences and changes, and that there is no way to obtain something, without sacrificing something else.

The short story “The Boat” by Alistair MacLeod is narrated by a man who comes from a fishing family. His mother’s side of the family has forever lived and worked by the sea and continues this tradition. The narrator’s father always wanted to be an academic, but worked on the boat to support his family. Through this passage it is evident that the parents’ characters clash in many aspects of their lives and are in constant conflict. MacLeod demonstrates this through the use of repetition, the contrast in other unrelated ideas, and through information that is withheld.

HW TUESDAY, 3/20: Read "Sailing from Troy," 647-648.  In 3-4 sentences, TYPE responses to questions: #1,3, 4. [Optional Extra quiz: Cornell notes.]

In Nantucket, the whaler’s island, every man had to be a whaler. Even if it wasn’t his dream job, just because it was the only way to survive in the island without being dropped out of the community. Philbrick introduces us to this starting point by quoting the words of Thomas Nickerson, the one who had been taught to “idolize the form of a ship” (Philbrick, 1).

“The Boat” written by Alistair MacLeod tells a story about a father’s life and how he lived as a fisherman. The narrator is an adult man who looks back on his life of when his father was still living because even though he got a university education, he now wants the life his father had. He expresses how his father always wanted him to become something bigger and better then what he became. The author, Alistair MacLeod, used many different writing techniques within this short story. The symbolism of “The Boat” expresses inevitability through the little hobbies the father/husband does through his boring routine life, obligation through the father/husband’s commitment as a fisherman to provide for his family, and imprisonment through his

2. Why does Dimmesdale consider it fortunate that the ship is not to sail for 4 days?

George Pocock is a name recognized amongst several people with connections to Seattle, the University of Washington, and the rowing community around the United States. He is looked upon as one of the greatest boat builders of all time and has numerous accolades because of his astounding boat building skills. Despite George’s successes and accomplishments throughout his life, the journey that led him to such a successful career was one full of struggle and relentless desire to chase a lifelong dream.

In October 1991, on the Grand Banks off the coast of Nova Scotia, the 72-foot swordfish boat Andrea Gail turns west to begin its journey home to Gloucester, Massachusetts. It's been a successful run and the Gail's hold is full of fish, but disturbing news over the radio puts captain Billy Tyne on alert. Storms are approaching and with a full hold the Andrea Gail sits low in the water. What transpires

Exploring the negative impacts that the land can have on individuals, Alistair McLeod’s short story “The Boat” uses strong characterisation to exhibit how strong connections to place shape our values and how they influence our relationships. As the narrator recalls his childhood, the strong connection between the inhabitants of the coast and the sea become evident, for they are “people of the sea”. The narrator speaks of the importance of the boat and how the inhabitants’ lives closely circle around “the boat” and all it provides for them; fishing, jobs for the fishermen, the ability to earn a living, a culture and a life. Through the narrator’s struggle to break free from the traditions, the audience comes to learn his struggle between the

“The Open Boat” is a short story written by Steven Crane about four men stranded on a dinghy after their boat had sunk over night. The men were struggling to stay alive because it seemed as if they had no hope for survival. The four stranded shipmen were a correspondent, an oiler, a cook, and a captain. The theme of the story is that man has no control over his destinies and that nature controls everything. Naturalist themes prevail in Stephen Crane's “The Open Boat” as it demonstrates naturalist literature through the struggle that nature throws at the men. Naturalism arises throughout the men’s constant battle between their surrounding environment and keeping