Discussion #2: Chapter Three to Five - Literary Luminary

This week, my literature circle group finished reading chapters three to five of Ingo. I was assigned the role of the literary luminary.

Passage #1

I’m falling into a dream, even though I’m wide awake. The sea feels stronger and more real than Conor’s loft room. The white walls seem to sway like water. The sea’s all around me, whispering to me in a voice that ebbs and flows like the tide. I want to follow its voice. I want to wade out into the water, far from everything on land. The sea is pulling at me, like a strong current that wraps itself around your legs and lifts you off your feet. If only I was down at the cove. I must get there. I must go now, this minute.” (Pg. 41)

I pick this passage because it is well written. The author uses many descriptive words that create a very vivid image of the setting in Sapphy’s mind. The detail that makes this passage very powerful is where the author treats the sea as a person “whispering…in a voice that ebbs and flows..”. The description of the sea drawing Sapphy into the water is a strong imagery. The reader will find it easier to understand Sapphy’s strong attraction to the sea as Sapphy seems to have no choice, and appears not to be able to fight and beat this strange attraction. This passage also prepares the reader for something more ominous—will Sapphy disappear in the sea like her father or will she find something or someone waiting for her? The last line in the passage is very effective as the repetition conveys a sense of urgency and determination, “I must get there. I must go now, this minute.”

Passage #2

The second passage was, “Cold. I’m cold. I look down. Already the water is up to my waist. My hands trail in the water. That’s so strange. I didn’t think I had waded so deep. And I’m still wearing my shorts and T-shirt. The tide is falling fast and it’s pulling more and more strongly, as if it wants me to come with it. It’s like a magnet. If I didn’t dig my feet into the sand, the tide would carry me away.” (Pg. 42-43)

I pick this passage because it shows how powerful the sea is in this story and that the sea is able to draw Sapphy towards it against her own will. The author emphasizes Sapphy’s feelings of confusion and bewilderment as though she does not believe how cold she feels by repeating the same word twice “Cold. I’m cold.” The author also uses short sentences, making the situation seem more urgent and dangerous. She describes the scene in great detail. The author compares the tide to a magnet. This is also done in the first passage and again, it helps the reader to imagine what the tide is like. The description is very visual, therefore, letting the reader to almost feel exactly what Sapphy is experiencing – the sensation of being dragged by the tide and the overwhelming force of an unknown power coming from the sea.

Legend:

------ Metaphor

------ Simile

------ Personification

------ Repetition

------ Personification and Metaphor

------ Personification and Simile