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The tanker approaches Isabel’s boat, at least seven stories tall and wide enough to fill the horizon. They desperately try to get the engine started to move out of its way, and in the last second before they’re hit by the tanker, Luis is able to get it going. They speed out of the way, but the wake of the tanker dumps a load of water on top of them and they all tumble across the boat.

Being completely soaked with water and having it completely fill their boat mirrors the mental struggles that Isabel and the other refugees are facing as they sometimes feel like giving in to despair—just as one obstacle seems to clear, another one inevitably presents itself. But the fact that the boat’s motor is able to start again also aids in retaining their spark of hope, and allows them to continue their journey.

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Isabel realizes that Señor Castillo has been thrown from the boat, and they immediately look out into the darkness to try and find him. Isabel spots him in the water for a second. She remembers her grandmother, Lita, disappearing under the waves in the same way two years earlier, and immediately dives in after Señor Castillo.

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Gratz reveals some of the trauma that Isabel has already experienced even as a child in witnessing her grandmother’s death, and how that has forced her to grow up and be more responsible. This is evidenced in the fact that despite Isabel’s young age and small size, she does not hesitate to dive in to save an adult man from the water.

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Refugee: Isabel: The Straits of Florida – 1994, 1 day (3) Summary & Analysis