The Sailor Boy's Tale By Isak Dinesen Analysis

In “The Sailor Boy’s Tale”, written by Isak Dinesen, Simon, a young sailor about the age of 15, rescues a falcon, which has gotten tangled in the ropes of the main mast of a ship. A few years later, Simon started working on a different boat, and goes ashore at a port town on the northern coast of Norway. There he meets Nora, a girl of thirteen or fourteen, who promises to give him a kiss if he comes back the next day. The next night, however, he accidentally kills Ivan, a Russian sailor whom he has befriended. He runs to Nora, who gives him the promised kiss. He is eventually taken in by an old woman, Sunniva, who helps him evade Ivan’s men by pretending that he is her son. She then explains to him that she herself was the falcon he rescued and that she is now rescuing him in return. Isak Dinesen uses vivid imagery in combination with the characterization of the characters in this short story to convey coming of age as one of the story’s central themes. Dinesen’s characterization of Simon reveal directly that he is growing older, and progressing from a boy into a man. He was always described as small for his age, but after Simon’s first mission on sea, Dinesen stated, “this last winter he had grown, and had become strong of
He decides to sneak off with Ivan, but soon realizes the large drunken man is trying to have him stay. Furious, Simon pulls out a knife and stabs Ivan. Shocked at what he had done, Dinesen describes Simon “watch[ing] the blood spread into a dark pool underneath the big body”(97). Dinesen is trying to convey the strength that Simon has grew into. He uses his strength to push Ivan off, and stab him with the knife. Lionel Trilling states, “Ivan was one of the capacities [preventing him from seeing Nora], but he pushes through”(Trilling 14). These statements show that Simon had the