“I said nothing when Ben came downstairs, nothing as he sat on the sofa across from me. I fixed my eyes on the television. A documentary about wildlife. The inhabitants of the ocean floor. A remote-controlled submersible craft was exploring an underwater trench with jerky twitches. Two lamps shone into places that had never known light before. Ghosts in the deep.”
In this quote, Christine has just found out that Ben lied to her about yet another important part of her life. Ben had told her that her closest friend, Claire, who Christine has remembered flashes of, moved to New Zealand, when in fact she has been living close in England, one phone call away, the entire time. Christine now has to pretend as if she doesn’t know, for if she reveals that she does, she’ll reveal that she’s been seeing the memory specialist Dr. Nash, who told her about this friend. She is filled with hate for Ben for keeping this vital piece of information that could have alleviated her from pain from her, and as she looks at the television, she reveals her true feelings.
This quote displays symbolism of Christine’s feeling of being unmoored and unstable, as well as her decision that it is better to be unhappy and knowledgeable than happy and ignorant. Christine is now painting the picture of herself as the camera, fumbling around a place never yet explored to find the truth. She is the one operating with “jerky twitches” in the murky, deep and dark waters of her life, where there is nothing recognizable. The people who surround her are “ghosts in the deep” who she later describes as “elusive, ethereal. Like ghosts.” This ghost motif displays she finds no stability in them, rather, they unstabilize her with their lies and disappearances. However, she chooses to shine the light on this place, to choose the truth-seeking and to reveal these “ghosts in the deep”, thus deciding the potential unhappiness of the truth.
Christine has wrestled this whole book with what truly deserves to be known, what with the grief that knowledge has brought her (when she found out her son died, that she lost her memory in such a horrific way). However, like the scientists searching for a better world by finding these animals with different ways of living, Christine is searching for happiness by acceptance of the truth instead of the sadness and confusion of ignorance.
In this quote, Christine has just found out that Ben lied to her about yet another important part of her life. Ben had told her that her closest friend, Claire, who Christine has remembered flashes of, moved to New Zealand, when in fact she has been living close in England, one phone call away, the entire time. Christine now has to pretend as if she doesn’t know, for if she reveals that she does, she’ll reveal that she’s been seeing the memory specialist Dr. Nash, who told her about this friend. She is filled with hate for Ben for keeping this vital piece of information that could have alleviated her from pain from her, and as she looks at the television, she reveals her true feelings.
This quote displays symbolism of Christine’s feeling of being unmoored and unstable, as well as her decision that it is better to be unhappy and knowledgeable than happy and ignorant. Christine is now painting the picture of herself as the camera, fumbling around a place never yet explored to find the truth. She is the one operating with “jerky twitches” in the murky, deep and dark waters of her life, where there is nothing recognizable. The people who surround her are “ghosts in the deep” who she later describes as “elusive, ethereal. Like ghosts.” This ghost motif displays she finds no stability in them, rather, they unstabilize her with their lies and disappearances. However, she chooses to shine the light on this place, to choose the truth-seeking and to reveal these “ghosts in the deep”, thus deciding the potential unhappiness of the truth.
Christine has wrestled this whole book with what truly deserves to be known, what with the grief that knowledge has brought her (when she found out her son died, that she lost her memory in such a horrific way). However, like the scientists searching for a better world by finding these animals with different ways of living, Christine is searching for happiness by acceptance of the truth instead of the sadness and confusion of ignorance.
I think this quote and your interpretation is very interesting. It reminds me of the discussion we had earlier in the school year about whether or not it is better to always seek the truth. Now adding to the thoughts that I had earlier in the school year, I agree with Christine that although it is a difficult concept, it is better to know the truth than it is to struggle with ignorance and confusion. Knowing a truth, even a horrible one, can ground and anchor people with concrete fact, like Christine observed. Without it, people may think that they are happy, but in reality they might be untethered and drifting. Personally, I would rather know the truth than live in ignorance, even if that truth would hurt me. I think that if people are trapped in ignorance, they will not only lose an aspect of the world around them, but they will always somehow know that they are missing that piece. I would rather confront a horrible truth than be constantly dissatisfied and lost in that way.
ReplyDelete