Islands As A Narration Of A Yo
A. Hemon�s Islands is the narrative of a young boys initiation into the adult
world. The boy travels to a place he has never been before, far away from all the
comforts of his childhood home. The island is full of secrets about the �adult world� and
the terrible things that can happen within it. While away, he learns shocking lessons
about the world in which he lives, mainly from his Uncle Julius, who tells scary stories
that he thinks the boy should know about. The boy is unprotected from everything on
the island and everything it contains. Through this unprotected environment, he learns
things about the adult world that are not learned anywhere else.
In the car on the way to the ...
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is only, generally, children who sing on car journeys until their
voices are gone.
Even before boarding the boat, the boy begins to notice how ugly age and
adulthood can be. He notices the �gnarled knees , the spreading sweat stains on their
shirts and sagging wrinkles of fat on their thighs.� (129) At one point, he sees �one of
the Germans, an old, bony man� get down on his knees and then vomit over the pier
edge. The boy sees this, but still relates it back to something he understands. �The vomit
Catherine Henderson
hit the surface and then dispersed in different directions, like children running away to
hide from the seeker.� (130) Again, by relating something so grotesque to something so
childlike and innocent, the boy reminds the reader that he is still just a young child, not
yet ready to deal with this kind of adult vision.
Once boarded on the boat and sailing to Mljet, the boy loses his hat. It is not just
a hat though, it is his hat that shielded ...
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the boy how even supposedley �good�
things can turn �bad�. People who were once childhood friends to the boy may later
become his enemies and of this he must be cautioned.
The second story told to the boy is about Uncle Julius�s grandfather. His family
brought beekeeping to the Bosnia, and were respected. The story ends with his
grandfather dying of dysentry. �People used to die of that all the time. They�d just shit
Catherine Henderson
themselves to death.� (133) This harsh realization that even respected, intelligent
people can die in undignified ways is another step into the adult world. As a child, the
boy feels like everyone lives forever, but as he is initiated ...
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Islands As A Narration Of A Yo. (2008, August 22). Retrieved November 28, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Islands-As-A-Narration-Of-Yo/88725
"Islands As A Narration Of A Yo." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 22 Aug. 2008. Web. 28 Nov. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Islands-As-A-Narration-Of-Yo/88725>
"Islands As A Narration Of A Yo." Essayworld.com. August 22, 2008. Accessed November 28, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Islands-As-A-Narration-Of-Yo/88725.
"Islands As A Narration Of A Yo." Essayworld.com. August 22, 2008. Accessed November 28, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Islands-As-A-Narration-Of-Yo/88725.
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