How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The last time I hugged her, I was exactly as tall as she was. Your own mom always seems so big, and then one day you have this shock of realizing you are as tall as she is. (2.1)
Ben starts the book by realizing he and his mother are the same height. At the end, he looks his father in the eye. Nice symmetry, no?
Quote #2
When it was time to dress for the funeral, he went into his room and shut the door. Usually he helped with our ties, but this time I had to do it for everyone. (2.4)
After his mom's death, Ben has to take on a lot of new responsibilities. In a way, he's filling in for his mom and his dad.
Quote #3
"Happy birthday," Gerry said.
"Surprise," Dylan said.
"Oh," Dad said. "I forgot."
"I did too," I said. I was sixteen now. "Thank you, Gerry," I said. I looked at the rusty little car sitting in the torn paper and closed my fist around the toy. (16.59)
For his sixteenth birthday, Ben ends up getting a toy car instead of the real one he had dreamed about for so long.
Quote #4
Dad's hand was still bothering him. […] Fortunately, I was getting stronger. I didn't need his help anymore to get the main up the last few inches [...] (19.2)
As they sail, Ben and his brothers rely less on their father. Later, on the island, they live completely independently of him.
Quote #5
I sat down beside Dylan. He turned and looked at me, and I saw that he wasn't an eleven-year-old boy anymore. He was an eleven-year-old man. (27.10)
Sailing through the storm helps Ben see his younger brother in a new light.
Quote #6
"A fish! Gerry, you got a fish!"
"Where did you get a fish?" I asked, just sitting there, staring at it [...] (33.59)
When the Byron brothers are starving on their island, the person who first finds food is little five-year-old Gerry. We love the irony.
Quote #7
He blew out his breath in puffs as he barely kept his head above the water. My arm flashed out and grabbed him. "Let go," he said quickly. (35.20-35.21)
At the beginning of the book, Gerry wouldn't even set foot in shallow water. By the end, he's taught himself to swim. (Not well, but still.)
Quote #8
I crossed the room and stood in front of Dad. I looked him level in the eye and it surprised us both. (40.39)
Ben's height reflects his emotional journey in the novel. He's grown both physically and spiritually.
Quote #9
We never had any sisters. Mom said once that someday our wives would be her daughters. (41.67)
Sadly, Mom didn't live long enough to see that day.
Quote #10
"When you are a man—" he began, then stopped.
"What?" I asked. "Will I jump?"
He put my hand down again and stood. "I don't know, Ben." He bent and kissed me lightly on the forehead. "That's your part of the story." (42.37-43.38)
When Ben decides to forgive his father, he decides the sort of man he's going to be.