Lobster Boy Literary Response

Lobster Boy – Literary Response

What is this story about? This classic story is about a twelve year old boy by the name of Samuel “Skiff” Beaman Jr. who has a really big problem. Since his mother passed away, his father has sunk into depression with his backsides attached to his couch and his eyes gazed at the television. Skiff’s pride and joy and his family boat Mary Rose has sunk too. He needs a whole heap of money to fix up his family’s fishing boat. Skiff Jr. tries his best each day to get his father out of his couch and to move on, but the conversation between the boy and his father ends every time

with a pin drop. Skiff is mad that he can’t get his father to help him with fixing the family boat but he knows that he has to appreciate the fact that his father has now become an alcoholic and a lazy, depressed old man.

Poor Skiff Beaman Jr. knows that he has a job to do in which he must achieve on his own. Skiff tries to make five grand of money by catching lobsters using his lobster trap or pot but along this journey of his, his rich and spoiled-rotten enemy Tyler Croft tries to destroy his plans. For example, in chapter eleven - Trap Wars, it is said that there had been someone cutting the buoys overnight, releasing all the trapped lobsters which was also wasting all the effort and hard work of poor Skiff Jr. In chapter twelve – Rich Boy in the Dark of Night, the author reveals to us who had been doing such a wicked thing. As Skiff Jr. creeps through the night to see who it is, it isn’t so

surprising when he finds out the crook. “…something moves on the boat and I know. A person standing up. Then leaning over the other side of the boat. Then standing up again. Can’t quite make it out, but it’s got to be Tyler, grabbing my buoys in the water and cutting the line, then moving along to the next buoy.” ‘Tyler Croft, you’re a thief! I hope you die, you miserable piece of crud!’ Tyler’s head pokes up over the side and I can see him clear as day. He’s smiling.” This showed me that Tyler Croft was a jealous type of boy who never wanted Skiff Jr. to succeed in life. I know this because he didn’t want to steal Skiff Beaman’s lobsters. He was already filthy rich and had everything he desired. His purpose was to make Skiff feel miserable and frustrated. Anyhow, Skiff Jr. finds out an easier way to raise money for himself and his family boat. He realizes that the lobster traps is too much of a work and won’t earn him enough money. He is determined to go out on the open ocean all alone, thirty miles off shore on a dangerous mission to harpoon a prize giant tuna.
In conclusion, I believe that Skiff is a great and inspirational character to young people today. He teaches us that giving up is not an option, but having hope and faith is the next step to success.
How did this story make you feel and why? This story made me feel motivated because of the determination which the author presented to us through Skiff Beaman Jr. He remained strong and faithful to his goal and never gave up. Even though there were barriers along his journey like Tyler Croft and his hopeless dad, he made sure that those obstacles never jammed his pathway to succeeding and achieving his goal. For example, Skiff Jr. really wanted his dad to arise from his couch and help him out with fixing the boat. His dad never got up. He never answered back when Skiff told him to. “Dad!’ I go. ‘She gone under!’ He rolls to one side and puts a bleary eye on me. His beard is all matted because he ain’t combed it in months, and it makes him look old and scruffy. ‘School’s out, huh? How’d it get to be that late?’ ‘The boat sunk! What’ll we do?’ ‘Do?’ He puts his hand over his eyes and sighs again. ‘Oh, I suppose we could raise her up, but she’d just sink again. Best leave her be.’ ‘You can’t leave a boat sunk at the dock. It ain’t right!’ But my dad turns his face to the back of the couch and won’t hear me.” This showed us that Skiff Sr. didn’t care about anything anymore. Now that his wife had gone, the Mary Rose no longer feels like a family boat to him anymore. Just an ordinary boat like every other boat on the dock. But Skiff Jr. wants to get his dad back on track and occupied like everyone else’s father. Skiff Beaman Jr. knows that catching the big blue fin fish will save the boat – and his family.
In conclusion, I was truly inspired by this novel because Skiff Jr. achieved a hard objective and he did it on his own without the help of his downhearted father. With all the problems and difficulties he had to face, nothing could hold him back from going pass the finish line. Looking back and reading how Skiff caught a fish which was longer than him and his boat combined, taught me that anything is possible no matter how weak or small, you are.

Which character did you like and why? The character which I really admired was obviously Skiff Jr. because of his strength of character. The great effort he put into his work and the way he was determined to put his body on the line to get his boat and his family fixed was really what caught my eye. For example, when Skiff Jr. was out thirty miles off shore on the open ocean, he showed willpower and was keen to take the sacrifices. He was keen to catch that giant Bluefin fish and to win the massive jackpot. He even dared himself to steal his father’s old harpoon from Mr. Woodwell’s shed. Mr. Woodwell is a ninety two year old man and is considered one of Skiff’s best friends, but he had no other choice. Skiff Jr. thought of it as borrowing so it didn’t put too much pressure on him. Anyhow, he hears his mother’s voices in his head saying to think smart, speak true and never give up and that’s what he does. Skiff Jr. targeted for that giant fish. He threw out a bucket of chum, attracting all the small fish then the big Bluefin tuna, but then something goes wrong and he nearly loses hope. “Come on, Mr. Bluefin. Can’t you smell the chum? Can’t you feel the baitfish feeding? Ain’t you hungry? Tinker stay in the slick for an hour or more and then blink! They’re gone, just like that. Like somebody flicked a switch. Gone. And with ‘em any hope of finding a big tuna.” This showed us that Skiff was giving up. He couldn’t believe that he had just wasted a bucket of chum feeding all the small fish. He later lay down on his boat and at this very moment, I thought he had lost his hope of catching the giant Bluefin but then the author says that a whoosh sound was coming near the boat and my excitement arose. This is when Skiff stood up and threw his sharp harpoon out with all his might. “…I heave the harpoon and pray for a strike. Pitiful throw. Harpoon goes sideways and sort of doinks into the water. When the line is coiled I stand up again, holding the harpoon shoulder high. I take another throw and this one is better but it still misses. I throw until I can’t throw no more.” When the story goes on, Skiff later catches the giant Bluefin and lets it sit at the back of his small boat. When Skiff makes his way back home, his boat runs out of fuel after five miles so he has no other option but to use his oars to row the boat for the next twenty-five miles. This part of the story really showed how determined Skiff was. With the 900-pound fish at the back of Skiff’s small boat, he struggles to row the boat fast back to shore before it gets rotten but he still thinks positively about the grand prize and how it will fix his boat and his relationship between him and his father. “I cut two pieces of rope. Lash my left hand to my left oar and tie the rope with a good knot. There. Can’t let go. Lashing my right hand is much harder, so hard it brings tears to my eyes, but I finally manage to pull the knot tight with my teeth. Both hands tied to the oars. Can’t let go, can’t give up. Ready? Ready. Pull. Pull. Pull.” This showed us that Skiff was strong- minded and had a solid heart. Although he was stuck in the open ocean with no fuel, he forced himself to row non-stop for more than twelve hours back to shore. He never gave up. He did what he had to do.
In conclusion, Skiff made it to shore and was badly dehydrated by the time he was discovered. He is definitely a character which I look up to and am inspired by. Skiff, in my opinion, is a very inspirational individual.
Which character did you dislike and why?

The character which was personally out of my favor was Tyler Croft because he intimidated and bullied poor Skiff Beaman. Tyler is a filthy rich boy who was definitely looked at, from my point of view, as the antagonist of the story. He would always mock and put Skiff down. He was always in Skiff’s path, to ruin his life and to make him fail. These two boys had a long history, even their fathers were enemies. One example which showed intimidation from Tyler Croft was when he continually mocked Skiff for having his boat sink. “Hey Skiffy!” he goes, popping a wheelie and showing off. ”Heard that old wreck of yours finally went under. Good riddance! Ugly thing stunk up the whole creek. That wasn’t a boat – it was an outhouse!” This shows us how nasty and cruel Tyler Croft is, but he doesn’t stop there. He goes beyond the subject and teases Skiff about his personal life and family. “Ooh, Skiffy’s cryin’!” “Am not!” I said, looking around for something to throw at him, a rotten apple for his rotten head. “Skiffy’s cryin’ and I ain’t lyin’ Little Skiff Beaman live in a shack, he pees in a bucket and craps out back! Hey lobster boy! Your momma’s dead, your daddy’s drunk! Go back to the swamp, you dirty punk!” This evidently showed us that Tyler Croft was spoiled rotten and was obviously not taught his manners. He really didn’t care about Skiff’s mum who had passed away

or his dad passed out on his couch. Tyler is a very loquacious character and one who doesn’t thinks before he speaks. This is why I hated Tyler Croft. Because of his lack of discipline and respect throughout the story, he was my least favored character.
In conclusion, I believe that the author made these little skits of intimidation in the story to show us what really happens in society. I think that it is important for this issue to end because it not only affects a victim’s personal life but it can also lead to suicidal. If I was Skiff and I heard Tyler Croft mock my mother, I would also feel heavily offended by his words. Therefore, I believe that bullying should come to a halt and should not occur in society again.
What important message did you learn from the story? An important message I learned was that “no one is ever too small or young to do a huge job”. I firstly picked up this message from the middle of the story when Skiff decided to face a difficult mission which was catching lobsters. He had to earn enough money by setting out two-hundred lobster traps in which he had to pull three at a time, back on his small boat. Skiff was doing a grown man’s job at twelve years of age which also showed how important it was for him to fix his family boat. Delvin Murphy, the boss and owner of a shop called Bait & Fuel also couldn’t believe that such a hard job will be done by a feeble, young boy, especially with Skiff not having a standard boat. “He scratches at his thick red beard, wrinkles his fat nose, and 7studies me. “Uh, yuh. That makes sense. Let me think on this. Two hundred traps from a ten-foot skiff. Mmm. That’s a whole lot of traps to be hand pulling, young Skiffy. Your dad worked that many with a full-size boat and a hydraulic puller.” “I got the skiff,” I tell him, “so that’s what I’m using.” This showed us that Skiff didn’t care if he was a small, young, and a weak fella. He knows that it doesn’t only take a strong, grown man to do a huge job, but it also takes a determined and a passionate person to finish and achieve any goal or objective. He had a job to do and it was his goal to finish it. Well that was until Tyler Croft jumped in and caused trouble by cutting the traps. Anyhow, I believe that the author wrote this to let us know that anything is possible if it is set as a goal and is targeted or well-aimed for. That’s what Skiff did. He taught me that no matter how diminutive you are or how others think of you, you should always push these negative things away because it could harm or stop you from succeeding and achieving your future goal.
In conclusion, Skiff also taught me to always have a backup plan just in case haters would ruin your first plan. For example, when Tyler Croft cut the lobster traps and ruined Skiff’s chance of earning enough money to fix his boat, he decided to move ahead and to go out fishing for the grand prize tuna. Skiff helped me understand how to succeed in life and some steps to reaching my goal. He is a hard working kid and one who really searches for success.