How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
My mother used to tell me about the ocean. She said there was a place where there was nothing but water as far as you could see and that it was always moving, rushing toward you and then away. (1.1)
Just like the ocean water, Mary's dreams seems to rush toward her and then away, all throughout the book. Her mom dies and gives her hope for the ocean—rushing toward her. Jed turns her out—away. She meets Gabrielle—rushing toward her. Gabby becomes a super-zombie—away. Travis says he'll come for her—rushing toward her. He doesn't—away. Get the picture?
Quote #2
That no one has seen him gives my mother hope. At night she prays to God that he has found some sort of enclave similar to our village. […] But no one else has any hope. (1.8)
In reality, Mary's mom seems to have lost hope as well. If she really thought her husband were in another village, why wouldn't she have braved the paths rather than joining the zombie Forest? Like everyone else, she knew—deep down—that her beloved husband was Unconsecrated.
Quote #3
"The ocean," my mother murmurs. Sharp as a crack she whips her head around and I see that her eyes are wide and unfocused but lucid. She crawls toward me until our hands are linked together through the fence.
"The ocean, Mary, the ocean! […] So beautiful, the ocean. […] The water, the waves, the sand, the salt! […] It consumes me," she says, her voice only a whisper. "My little girl," she tells me. "Do not forget my little girl." (2.26-29)
Why do you think these are Mary's mom's final words? Did she have a vision of the ocean before she turned? Did she regret her decision to join Mary's father? Did she merely want to leave Mary with something to hope for?