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Lord of the Deep
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From: Jonathan Hunt <jhunt24>
Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 18:13:47 +0000
My favorite coming of age story in recent years has been THE LORD OF THE DEEP by Graham Salisbury and I'm not sure that it's ever been fully appreciated. Most of the reviews and reactions I've read online have ranged from shocked moral outrage that lying and cheating would be so celebrated in a young adult novel to an acknowledgement that the world of grown-ups is gray rather than black and white. Few, if any of them, ever acknowledge the fact that Bill made the *right* choice, that contrary to what Mikey thinks, Bill has only grown and increased in stature and is, in fact, much more of a hero by the end of the novel than he ever was at the beginning.
People that are shocked and outraged and dissatisfied by Bill's decision fail to understand his dilemma properly. While this story is told from Mikey's viewpoint, arguably the more immediate and sympathetic viewpoint, we can still infer Bill's viewpoint but we have to work a little bit to do it. Salisbury lays out all the reasons Bill does what he does. They are in plain view for Mikey--and for the reader--to see early in the novel. How frustrating that he--and some readers--do not see them clearly!
Mikey knows that his mother quit her job to care for his baby half-brother
(born prematurely with a host of medical problems that the health insurance does not entirely cover), knows that his father has had to fire the deckhand, knows that is the very reason why he is working the boat this summer. But he can't quite put it together. Can't see that, for Bill, the eventual dilemma is not a choice between right and wrong, but rather a choice between the lesser of two evils. Do I lie and take the money? Or do I allow my baby to go without medical care? Do I hurt myself, damage my integrity, or do I hurt my family?
(I know, I know . . . but you are wrong. Within the world of the novel, there is ostensibly no other way for Bill to get this money. And I would remind you of a certain parable wherein a man in a boat was sinking, praying to the Lord to save him, but repeatedly spurning rescue attempts by other boats with the fervent statement that the Lord would save him, eventually drowning, arriving in heaven only to find that the Lord had sent all those people to save him.)
Anyway, Bill makes his terrible choice at great personal cost. It is a credit to the kind of man that he is that it bothers him so much. Lesser men would not have thought twice about it. It is a hard decision, but in this case our inborn moral sense screams that it is the right one. I would hope that put in such a similar situation that we would all chose the medical needs of our living children over our own personal integrity and fish?tching records. If you wouldn't then shame on you. Shame.
When Mikey confronts Bill about the situation, most novelists probably would have allowed Bill to delineate his reasons in a didactic fashion, but here again Bill--and Salisbury--take the higher road. Mikey hasn't seen the situation for what it is. He is still seeing the world through the eyes of a child, an adolescent moving into adulthood, but he's not quite there yet. Bill doesn't saddle Mikey with the burden of the family's economic realities. He is content to allow him to be a child for a little while longer. No need to ruin him, to leave him wondering if every Christmas present, birthday present, every extra pleasure comes at the expense of health care for his baby half-brother. Bill--strong, wonderful, manly, patriarchal Bill--will provide for his family physically and he will provide for his family emotionally, even if that means bearing the brunt of Mikey's righteous indignation for the time being. He will be there waiting patiently, guiding Mikey through adolesence. This book may have captured the first conversation Bill and Mikey have about the incident, but I don't think it will be the last.
As I said earlier, I worship Bill. Just worship the ground he walks on. I would that all fathers could juggle financial hardship, a newborn infant with special needs, and one of those strange creatures known as a teenager with an equal amount of grace under pressure.
Back to the coming of age theme. In the best coming of age books, the protagonist starts as a child and ends as an adult, or at least firmly on that path. There is a threshhold that is crossed somewhere in the novel. I think this one is remarkable because it ends with the protagonist not having crossed, but still in the threshhold. It's a delicate point, I think, and Salsibury has captured it masterfully.
Jonathan
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Received on Sat 01 Nov 2003 12:13:47 PM CST
Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 18:13:47 +0000
My favorite coming of age story in recent years has been THE LORD OF THE DEEP by Graham Salisbury and I'm not sure that it's ever been fully appreciated. Most of the reviews and reactions I've read online have ranged from shocked moral outrage that lying and cheating would be so celebrated in a young adult novel to an acknowledgement that the world of grown-ups is gray rather than black and white. Few, if any of them, ever acknowledge the fact that Bill made the *right* choice, that contrary to what Mikey thinks, Bill has only grown and increased in stature and is, in fact, much more of a hero by the end of the novel than he ever was at the beginning.
People that are shocked and outraged and dissatisfied by Bill's decision fail to understand his dilemma properly. While this story is told from Mikey's viewpoint, arguably the more immediate and sympathetic viewpoint, we can still infer Bill's viewpoint but we have to work a little bit to do it. Salisbury lays out all the reasons Bill does what he does. They are in plain view for Mikey--and for the reader--to see early in the novel. How frustrating that he--and some readers--do not see them clearly!
Mikey knows that his mother quit her job to care for his baby half-brother
(born prematurely with a host of medical problems that the health insurance does not entirely cover), knows that his father has had to fire the deckhand, knows that is the very reason why he is working the boat this summer. But he can't quite put it together. Can't see that, for Bill, the eventual dilemma is not a choice between right and wrong, but rather a choice between the lesser of two evils. Do I lie and take the money? Or do I allow my baby to go without medical care? Do I hurt myself, damage my integrity, or do I hurt my family?
(I know, I know . . . but you are wrong. Within the world of the novel, there is ostensibly no other way for Bill to get this money. And I would remind you of a certain parable wherein a man in a boat was sinking, praying to the Lord to save him, but repeatedly spurning rescue attempts by other boats with the fervent statement that the Lord would save him, eventually drowning, arriving in heaven only to find that the Lord had sent all those people to save him.)
Anyway, Bill makes his terrible choice at great personal cost. It is a credit to the kind of man that he is that it bothers him so much. Lesser men would not have thought twice about it. It is a hard decision, but in this case our inborn moral sense screams that it is the right one. I would hope that put in such a similar situation that we would all chose the medical needs of our living children over our own personal integrity and fish?tching records. If you wouldn't then shame on you. Shame.
When Mikey confronts Bill about the situation, most novelists probably would have allowed Bill to delineate his reasons in a didactic fashion, but here again Bill--and Salisbury--take the higher road. Mikey hasn't seen the situation for what it is. He is still seeing the world through the eyes of a child, an adolescent moving into adulthood, but he's not quite there yet. Bill doesn't saddle Mikey with the burden of the family's economic realities. He is content to allow him to be a child for a little while longer. No need to ruin him, to leave him wondering if every Christmas present, birthday present, every extra pleasure comes at the expense of health care for his baby half-brother. Bill--strong, wonderful, manly, patriarchal Bill--will provide for his family physically and he will provide for his family emotionally, even if that means bearing the brunt of Mikey's righteous indignation for the time being. He will be there waiting patiently, guiding Mikey through adolesence. This book may have captured the first conversation Bill and Mikey have about the incident, but I don't think it will be the last.
As I said earlier, I worship Bill. Just worship the ground he walks on. I would that all fathers could juggle financial hardship, a newborn infant with special needs, and one of those strange creatures known as a teenager with an equal amount of grace under pressure.
Back to the coming of age theme. In the best coming of age books, the protagonist starts as a child and ends as an adult, or at least firmly on that path. There is a threshhold that is crossed somewhere in the novel. I think this one is remarkable because it ends with the protagonist not having crossed, but still in the threshhold. It's a delicate point, I think, and Salsibury has captured it masterfully.
Jonathan
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Received on Sat 01 Nov 2003 12:13:47 PM CST
