In The Wanderer, by Sharon Creech, Sophie travels across the Atlantic Ocean on a sailboat dubbed The Wanderer with her three uncles (Stew, Mo, and Dock) and two cousins (Brian and Cody), to go to England to visit Bompie, her grandfather. As the story progresses, you learn that Sophie was actually adopted, even though she refuses to acknowledge the fact. At the beginning of the story, Sophie denies her true feelings and buries the unpleasant memories of her deceased parents. When her cousins question her about her birth parents, she pretended she hasn't heard and changes the subject. I think that Sophie had pushed her memories of her real parents so far back in her mind that she truly believed that Cody, Brian, her uncles, and Bompie were her relations by blood. She acted very carefree, and talked about loving the adventure of being in the ocean. Sophie said she longed to be at sea. At night, however, she dreamed of a great black wave crashing down and swallowing her. By repressing her real emotions, her secret fear of the sea grew, despite her claims that she was perfectly all right.
As they drew closer to England, storms began. One night while on deck, a wave, as great and tall as the one in her nightmares, broke over her and the entire boat. This, I think, was when Sophie finally accepted and acknowledged the memory of her parents drowning from the impact of the wave she dreamt about. By the end of the story, she was open to herself and others about her past, and became more honest about her feelings. Sophie no longer had to hide herself from herself to be happy.
No comments:
Post a Comment