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Greed and Environmental Destruction
Themes and Colors
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Blueback, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Throughout his life, Abel Jackson is curious about the ocean. He often wonders what fish think and remember since they can’t communicate through human language. Sometimes, Abel believes that if his friend Blueback—a blue groper fish—could speak, he could reveal all “the secrets of the sea.” Abel also thinks of the ocean as a puzzle he wants to solve. This sense of mystery surrounding the ocean motivates Abel to become a marine biologist. However, even as a scientist equipped with years of study and advanced technology, Abel still hasn’t learned “the language of the sea.” The workings of the world are too complex—or maybe too simple and fundamental—to be discovered through scientific inquiry. The ocean seems to hold profound truths that remain just out of reach.
Abel believes his mother has achieved some deeper understanding of the ocean in her life “by staying put, by watching and listening. Feeling things.” By becoming “part of the bay,” Dora Jackson is able to know Longboat Bay intimately. In this way, Blueback suggests that a person can understand the ocean on some level, even if they can’t articulate or analyze that knowledge. However, Abel also comes to believe that all the mysteries of the ocean can’t be fully grasped until after death. As an adult, Abel decides he must wait to reach the end of his life to know the ocean’s secrets, and he feels content in the meantime to “let the sea be itself.” Through Abel’s pondering about life, death, and the ocean, Blueback suggests that some mysteries of the ocean can’t be discovered in life because they’re intertwined with the very mysteries of life (and death) itself. Thus, when Abel accepts that he can’t figure out all the mysteries of the ocean, he simultaneously comes to terms with the fact that he can’t unravel the mysteries of life and death either. Just as he accepts the sea’s enigmatic nature, Abel allows life to unfold as it will, enjoys his time in the world, and grows comfortable with the unknowable. By depicting Abel’s changing attitude toward nature’s and life’s mysteries, the novel illustrates life as a whole as a journey of learning how to be at peace with uncertainty.
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The Ocean and Life’s Mysteries ThemeTracker
The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of The Ocean and Life’s Mysteries appears in each chapter of Blueback. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
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The Ocean and Life’s Mysteries Quotes in Blueback
Below you will find the important quotes in Blueback related to the theme of The Ocean and Life’s Mysteries.
Chapter 3 Quotes
As well as wondering what fish thought, Abel also wondered what dead people thought. Both things were mysteries; they tied his mind up in knots but he never gave up wondering.
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After meeting Blueback, the beautiful blue groper fish, Abel can’t stop wondering what kinds of thoughts and memories Blueback’s mind might hold. In general, Abel longs to know what fish think. He’s immensely curious about fish because they can’t communicate their thoughts with people through human speech. As a result of this communication barrier, the inner minds of fish remain hidden to Abel, and he thinks of fish as being secretive creatures. Faced with the unknown, Abel’s strong curiosity compels him to uncover these secrets. Importantly, Abel’s desire to know more about fish reminds him of his similar, parallel desire Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum.
Chapter 10 Quotes
If Blueback could speak, thought Abel, he could tell him about his father. All the secrets of the sea would be there waiting for him.
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After Abel graduates high school, he returns home to Longboat Bay and swims in the sea with his best friend, the blue groper fish named Blueback. Just as Abel did when he was younger, Abel wishes he could find out what Blueback knows. He imagines that Blueback knows “[a]ll the secrets of the sea” and could communicate them to Abel if only the fish were capable of human speech. Abel’s wistful desire to be able to talk with Blueback highlights Abel’s strong curiosity about fish and the ocean’s mysteries. He doesn’t want to leave such mysteries unexplored. Instead, he yearns Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea.
“The ocean is sick,” said Abel’s mother. “Something’s wrong.”
It was a mystery. And the more he thought about it the more the whole sea seemed to be a puzzle. Abel wanted to figure it out.
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Soon after Abel graduates high school and returns home, dead pilchards start washing up on shore in Longboat Bay. Abel and his mother are concerned because they can’t figure out why so many fish are suddenly dying. Abel’s mother observes, “Something’s wrong,” and she says the “ocean is sick.” Unfortunately, neither Dora nor Abel can determine exactly what the problem is. The sea’s illness is “a mystery,” emphasizing how difficult the sea can be to understand. In fact, Abel calls the sea “a puzzle,” as though he has bits of knowledge about how the ocean works, but he can’t fit Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro per
Chapter 12 Quotes
In time [Abel] became an expert, someone foreign governments invited for lectures and study tours, but inside he still felt like a boy with a snorkel staring at the strange world underwater, wishing he knew how it worked. Blueback still swam through his dreams.
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After Abel marries Stella and starts working as a marine biologist, he reflects on who he’s become. This passage begins by emphasizing how Abel has changed with time—namely, he’s become “an expert.” He’s not just a boy who loves the sea anymore. Rather, now he’s an adult with a successful career, recognized officially all over the world by “foreign governments” for his knowledge of the sea. Growing older has brought major changes to Abel’s life. However, this passage focuses mainly on how little Abel feels he has changed since he was younger. The narrator describes that “inside [Abel] still felt Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur q
Chapter 13 Quotes
“All these years I just wanted to know about the sea. I’ve been everywhere, I’ve studied, I’ve given lectures, become a bigshot. But you know, my mother is still the one who understands it […] She learnt by staying put, by watching and listening. Feeling things. She didn’t need a computer and two degrees and a frequent flyer program. She’s part of the bay. That’s how she knows it.”
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As soon as Abel and Stella hear the news that Longboat Bay is now a protected marine park, they fly back to the bay to celebrate. During the plane ride home, Abel tells Stella that despite all his efforts to learn about the sea, he still hasn’t solved any of its mysteries. When he says, “All these years I just wanted to know about the sea,” he articulates the deep-seated curiosity about the ocean he’s had ever since he was a young boy. To satisfy this curiosity, Abel has tried hard to become an expert about the sea. He recalls, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit n
Chapter 16 Quotes
Abel and Stella went back to being scientists […] But they never discovered the secret of the sea. Abel figured his mother knew all the secrets by now and his father before her. He guessed that Mad Macka might have a few ideas too and that his own time would come eventually. In the meantime he let the sea be itself.
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As his family settles into Longboat Bay, Abel reexamines his feelings about the ocean’s mysteries. When he was younger, Abel longed to solve these mysteries, but now that he’s older, his perspective has changed. He doesn’t mind that he’s “never discovered the secret of the sea.” Of course, Abel is still curious about the ocean. Alongside his wife Stella, he continues to study and learn about the sea as a scientist. However, Abel has accepted that many of the ocean’s mysteries will remain unknown to him, and that he won’t be able to find all the answers to his big Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque.
