Summary Of The Highest Tide By Jim Lynch
Jim Lynch wisely inserts many deep contexts in his bildungsroman novels which waiting for the reader to interpret it themselves. One of his written piece has the same name as its biggest event, “The Highest Tide” – the story of one summer that changes Miles O’Malley’s perspective of life.
In chapter 29, the biggest event begins to happen here, Miles and Phelps go to downtown to see if the tide is really rising. He gives an indifferent description about this event which shows that he does not astonish with it because he already known from his psychic friend long before it begins. The description of the tide is detailed in his unique style with a sense of humour which can be seen in page 231, “… lots of people peeling seaweed off their faces and chests.”, and etc. This helps the readers can get a clear image of the high tide which can …show more content…
splash into the beach and bring many little sea lives into the bay. However, this way of description undermines the significance of the highest tide which should be the climax and the biggest event of the story and turns it into an ordinary situation as the rising and the setting of the sun. I believe the reason to undermine is to support the following event which is the real biggest event of the story and also for the protagonist – the death of Florence Dalessandro.
When Miles finds Florence’s dead body, he describes his feelings that “…my stomach burned and my throat clogged, then everything slowed way down.
I don’t know exactly what I did for the next few minutes…” (p.234), this is clearly seen that Miles is in shock and confuses. He never expects and prepare himself for this kind of losing before, so he takes some times to regain his conscious and call the police. During the time Miles walks around Florence’s cabin and sees her family picture the tide still raising and the sound of splashing is louder. After polices take Florence away, he tries to call his parents and wonders why the tide still raising. This is the reason I believe that the highest tide is the supporter of this event, it represents Miles’s feelings which he never describes, grief, pain and guilty that overwhelming inside his heart as the wave slaps the land. He refuses to cry so he paddles a canoe out to the sea and mimics the way the wolves howl to express his feelings. The descriptions of this part affects directly to the atmosphere which the readers can see it clearly that it is gloomy and filled with confusion and
sadness.
In chapter 29, the biggest event begins to happen here, Miles and Phelps go to downtown to see if the tide is really rising. He gives an indifferent description about this event which shows that he does not astonish with it because he already known from his psychic friend long before it begins. The description of the tide is detailed in his unique style with a sense of humour which can be seen in page 231, “… lots of people peeling seaweed off their faces and chests.”, and etc. This helps the readers can get a clear image of the high tide which can …show more content…
splash into the beach and bring many little sea lives into the bay. However, this way of description undermines the significance of the highest tide which should be the climax and the biggest event of the story and turns it into an ordinary situation as the rising and the setting of the sun. I believe the reason to undermine is to support the following event which is the real biggest event of the story and also for the protagonist – the death of Florence Dalessandro.
When Miles finds Florence’s dead body, he describes his feelings that “…my stomach burned and my throat clogged, then everything slowed way down.
I don’t know exactly what I did for the next few minutes…” (p.234), this is clearly seen that Miles is in shock and confuses. He never expects and prepare himself for this kind of losing before, so he takes some times to regain his conscious and call the police. During the time Miles walks around Florence’s cabin and sees her family picture the tide still raising and the sound of splashing is louder. After polices take Florence away, he tries to call his parents and wonders why the tide still raising. This is the reason I believe that the highest tide is the supporter of this event, it represents Miles’s feelings which he never describes, grief, pain and guilty that overwhelming inside his heart as the wave slaps the land. He refuses to cry so he paddles a canoe out to the sea and mimics the way the wolves howl to express his feelings. The descriptions of this part affects directly to the atmosphere which the readers can see it clearly that it is gloomy and filled with confusion and
sadness.