The title of the article I read is called “How Three Tokelau Teenagers Survived Being Lost in the Ocean for 51 Days.” The characters in this story are the three teenagers; Filo Filo, Samu Tonuia, and Etueni Nasau. The boys were unhappy with the restrictive boundaries of their small island (Atafu) and wished to escape. Samu Tonuia decided to steal his uncle’s boat and the three of them sailed away. It all went downhill from there.
This story is an example of chronological, longform storytelling. It started with the idea of the boys wanting to get away from the island, then moved on to them stealing the boat, then to them being lost at sea, and so on.
I believe there are at least two predominate themes within this story. One of the themes is naivety. As teens we all think that we’re above it all and nothing bad can happen to us. The boys obviously thought nothing bad was going to happen to them when they decided to run away on their boat. Even when they didn’t know where they were at, Etueni said, “We thought we were going to be fine. The other boys were found in five days.” Another theme is the overpowering will of the “human spirit.” Humans have overcome so many impossible obstacles and are able to persist because of the sheer will to overcome and survive.
Good discussion of themes; the idea of what the story is really “about.”
The story has a sort of screenplay quality. It begins at the end. Flashes back to reveal the characters. Then has sort of a caper feel as the boys take off in the boat. Then the rescue mission and survival. The movie has already been written.