Ocean is the black kitten with a white ear that the narrator plucks from the ground in Lettie’s bizarre parallel universe. She’s named after Lettie’s “ocean,” the mysterious pond behind the Hempstocks’ house. Having lost his beloved kitten, Fluffy, earlier in the story, the narrator adores Ocean and keeps her as a pet for years—though as an adult, he doesn’t remember what became of her or how she died. Decades later, when the middle-aged narrator goes to visit the Hempstocks’ farm, he finds that Ocean—like the elderly Old Mrs. Hempstock—is inexplicably still alive.
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Ocean Character Timeline in The Ocean at the End of the Lane
The timeline below shows where the character Ocean appears in The Ocean at the End of the Lane. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 15
...time with the narrator and sleeps on his pillow. The narrator decides to call her Ocean, though he doesn’t know why.
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Epilogue
...sits on the bench by the pond and thinks of his kitten: he remembers that Ocean was with him for years. He doesn’t remember what happened to her, but then he...
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...with a white ear comes to say hello. The narrator says she looks just like Ocean, but he doesn’t remember what happened to her. Ginnie says that he brought Ocean back...
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