Hu Post Three

The book includes a wide variety of themes, but one that stood out for me was "To achieve anything, you need to never stop hoping." Never stop hoping for a better future, freedom, love, acceptance, happiness, or anything and eventually you will have it accomplished. It reoccurs throughout the entire book, staring when Andres sacrifices himself in the hope his friends will continue on their journey. After his death the two remaining friends hope to stay alive. When Raul is disoriented after the hurricane, he most rely, or have hope in Juan to make sure they're still on course. After the shark attack, Juan is mourning for the loss of his companions but as he approaches Florida daily, the hope of seeing Carmen lets him not succumb to the peace and quiet of death. We as readers see Juan losing hope and know the only way for him to safely reach Carmen is to keep his spirits up- but he already considers himself "a dead man." Whenever you stop having faith in a better tomorrow, it affects what you are going to do today, so when I pondered the meaning of this book, I thought of all the hardships but how he finally reached his destination, yet he was alone; and after all that hope, he has found somewhere to be himself.