Third Quater

We atre still finishing Mid Summer Nights Dream which I truly would not recommend you to read cause it sucks. I have learned that John Carroll is a cool school since I have been here. From September until now i have changed by becoming more lazy when it comes to school which I am going to try to change this quarter. Once again i would highly recommended you to not read the book it is  horrible.

Jason

Zurkoski

English 9

Greens

Adrift Seventy Six Days Lost at Sea 

“BANG! A deafening explosion blankets the subtler sounds of torn wood fiber and the rush of the sea. I jump up. Water thunders over me as if I’ve suddenly been thrown into the path of a raging river (Callahan, 14).” This happened while Steven Callahan (who also happens to be the author of the book) was in a race from Penzance to the Canary Islands. He was caught in a big storm that capsized his boat and forced him to survive Adrift for Seventy Six Days Lost at Sea (which happens to be title of the book). When his boat capsized, he only was able to retrieve three pounds of food and eight pints of fresh water. Once those supplies ran out he had to live off nature for 73 days. During that time, the character was put to the test by the elements. He had to catch than eat his food raw and had to hope for rain storm to get water. Callahan had to use his Boy Scout survival skills to stay alive.

Steven Callahan had several important personality and physical traits. One physical trait that he has was that he had been a big guy. He originally had been a heavier guy and because of the work he had been doing at sea, he lost a lot of weight. Another personality trait was that he never gave up even though every once and a while he wished he could. Another personality trait he had was that he was nice and had a lot of feelings. One thing that demonstrates his feelings was when he was killing his fish for food. The thing that made him sad for them was that he felt that he could relate to them when he killed them. As his friends and family were missing him and wondering where he is, he thinks that the fish’s friends and family could think the same. He was a caring and companionate human being,

While the character was lost at sea he experienced several life changing events. The first event took place at Day 14 when the first ship passed by. He saw the ship when he awoke from what he thought was a Dorado hitting his raft so he grabbed his gun and went outside. He then saw lights flickering in the distance and then he rushed to find his flares. He found them and then shot one, than another, than one more … and then six and the ship still didn’t see him. The second major event took place when the third ship passed without noticing him. When the ship past without seeing him he doubted himself and thought about just giving up. He thought that he probably would never be found and thought there would be no use if he kept trying. But then he remembered his friends and family so then he thought he could keep on going in order to see them again. The final and third event that affected the character was when his raft popped. It happened when he caught a fish and the arrow in the fished punctured the raft when the fish was still squirming to get free. Since that event he had to repair then pump his raft all day long. This event deprived him of his energy and made him not want to do anything else. The character had a lot of life changing events and decisions that happened to him while at sea.

Once the story ends the character underwent several major transformations. One of the transformations that he underwent was a physical one. The physical change he went through was from a heavy guy to a normal sized guy. The character also underwent a personality transformation too. The positive changes that he made were that he became a lot nicer and was a lot more thankful of the life he had. The character had drastically changed when he returned home to his friends and family.

In Adrift Seventy Six Days Lost at Sea Steven Callahan (who also is the author) underwent many struggles while at sea. The character placed a very high importance to the theme of the story because it showed that you should never give up no matter what the hardship. Also, the character was all alone and it made you feel bad for him and wish you could be there to help him. The character left a lasting impression on the reader and that built the theme of the story.

Bibliography:

Callahan, Steven. Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. Print.