The Ocean at the End of the Lane Response

I don't believe there is a myth associated with The Ocean at the End of the Lane. All of the strange occurrences in the book seem to be just unique and don't relate to anything. That was my first impression anyway.

It may seem like an out-there comparison, but the Hunger Birds remind me of the locusts that Moses summons in the Bible. Mainly for the comparison between what they do to the people they attack. The locusts eat everything the Egyptians have, and the Hunger Birds completely eat Ursula and eat the Protagonist's heart.

The lake, or in this case a portal to some other world, may be a sort of mythical place. It's explained that the Ocean is another world. That's where they dump Lettie when she sacrifices herself to save the Protagonist, after all. Maybe if the Ocean is like Narnia, I could see how this aspect ties into a certain myth.

But really I got the impression that everything wasn't mythical. But I also can't really call this story a "magic realist" story either. Ursula, the Hunger Birds, and the Ocean are too many magical elements to consider this story that. But it is definitely urban and contemporary, so in a way this story could turn into a modern myth.

Comments

  1. Allyssa EllisNovember 3, 2019 at 5:39 PM

    I also read Ocean at the End of the Lane and enjoyed it quite a bit. I like your speculation here of how it could relate to certain myths and even religion. I noticed that theme very slightly as well, since the boy mentions he prefers to read mythological stories of Gods killing men rather than have to face reality.

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