Question

In the story’s opening paragraph and elsewhere, Andy finds comfort and reassurance in the idea the woods are “always the same''; later in the story, she remembers the ocean, “huge and empty, yet always moving. Everything lay hidden…” (par. 45). How does the contrast between woods and ocean suggest the transition she must make from childhood to adulthood?

Answer 1

This is my opinion!

Woods is childhood - ocean is adulthood

As a child, everything is usually the same. Go to school, come home, do homework, play outside, eat dinner, sleep. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Nothing is changing because your parents always have your back, and you have no real responsibilities. As an adult, things are always changing. Something could go wrong at any moment. Forget to pay pills, electricity shuts off, you lose your job, etc.