In “The Stilt Fishermen of Kathaluwa,” the story’s main character, Asanka, sees a group of stilt fishermen when he and the other asylum seekers are fleeing war-torn Sri Lanka on a fishing boat. The practice of stilt fishing in Sri Lanka began during World War II, when the presence of British troops led to overfishing, forcing Sri Lankan fishermen out of their fishing spots. In response, fishermen built stilts on coral reefs. Asanka didn’t think any stilt fishermen existed anymore, so he initially wonders if he’s hallucinating them (he is, though he never quite grasps this). Throughout the story, the fishermen seem to give Asanka advice, such as when they point him in the direction of a boat and land.
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The Stilt Fishermen Character Timeline in Foreign Soil
The timeline below shows where the character The Stilt Fishermen appears in Foreign Soil. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Stilt Fishermen of Kathaluwa
...as they pass. What Asanka just saw shocks him: he thought there weren’t any more stilt fishermen of Kathaluwa. He closes his eyes, and when he opens them, the fishermen are gone....
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...a boy—“Not after what he’s done, what he’s seen.” Now, Asanka looks up and sees the stilt fishermen hanging upside down.
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...pull him back in. Asanka calmly explains that he was talking “to them,” gesturing toward the stilt fishermen . The others give Asanka a puzzled look, then they ask what “they” said. Asanka...
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Asanka hears the stilt fishermen in the distance, but he can’t see them. He looks inside his pocket for the...
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...and speaks into it. A voice speaks back. In Asanka’s mind, the man becomes a stilt fisherman , and he and Chaminda are fish.
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