What does Alice mean when she says, “I’m not even sure we’re an island anymore, unless you spell it capital I-hyphen-l-a-n-d?”
When Alice refers to the island as an I-land, I think she is talking about the broken connection between the residents and the land. Before this statement she is discussing how the Belle boat has changed the island. It allowed the outside world into the island with medicine, news and ideas. People at one time were appreciative of the land they lived on and respected it. When the outside world entered the island and islanders could exit, there was not that relationship any longer. I believe that people became more interested in themselves than the well-being of the island. Hence the name I-land. Alice mentioned earlier in the passage how people once relied on the island and appreciated its beauty. Now people are so introverted that they are being destructive with their “junk” and excessive demands from the landscape. People have forgotten the value of appreciation.
4 comments:
I like your interpretation here; I agree that she sees the isolation as a good way of life because it caused people to feel more a part of a community. The Island Belle brought in different "ideas." It's interesting how she says, it "brought news, food, gas, firewood. Even ideas, I deem." She sounds like she's disapproving of these ideas. Similarly, she says the reason for poverty on the island is education: "Not enough of the proper kind at the right time" (395). What do you think she means by that?
I think Miz Alice wants a different type of education for the island. If people want a real-world education, they should go to the real world to obtain that. Miz Alice sees the importance in nature, and I think she wants the other residents of the island to see it as well. She complains, "As for kids, they know one thing to do -- drive from Ewell to Rhodes Point and back. Up and down, slow or fast, it matters not. They know every inch of the way nut they can't distinguish an egert from a crane." In order to keep the integrity of the island in tact (and stop it from becoming an I-land) it needs a different type of knowledge that may not be brought from the mainstream world on the Belle.
I agree with Chelsea in that many people on the island have really missed out on a good education. I really admire Miz ALice's views on education because I think education is one of most important parts of life. Education is not just school and the classroom; it's about expanding your knowledge to learn about yourself and how you can change the world. As Miz Alice says, "Education is thinking, and thinking is looking for yourself and seeing what's there, not what you got told was there."
I also think that with a good education, we learn how to better the world.
In regards to the people living near the junk, Miz Alice says, "You'd think living beside trash we'd do something about it, but all we do is get used to it. We think it's the way of things." I think that this quote reinforces the idea even more that when you don't know of a better place, you have no reason to strive to get there (when you aren't educated, you don't know what's out there). By being uneducated and unaware of the great things the real world has to offer, people in Chesapeake Bay basically settle. I think it is these people that frustrate Miz Alice. Everyone has so much to individually offer the world. It is up to us though to figure out exactly what our purpose is in life is, and I think that education is required in this process.
Ms. Alice emphasizes the selfishness of the islands residents when she says, "I’m not even sure we’re an island anymore, unless you spell it capital I-hyphen-l-a-n-d.” The "capital I" emphasizes the selfishness of the islands residents and the "hyphen" symbolizes the disconnection between the land and the residents.
Although Ms Alice focuses more on the beauty of the island, she notes, "Along much of the road lay junk." The junk lies there because no one cares enough to pick it up and better their environment. The islands residents are just lazy.
I agree that the lack of education has been the cause of the islands poverty.
When Ms. Alice states, "Not enough of the proper kind [of education] at the right time" (395), she means that the islands residents know nothing beyond the literal connotation of "rules." In order for the residents to appreciate the land as Ms. Alice does, the residents must be open to "education" and abstract ideas.
In conclusion, the resident's conformity and disposition to "get used to [things]" hinders their "education." Because they are too selfish and conformable to change, they continue to be disconnected to the island.
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