The Voyage of the Frog

“The smell was the boat and Owen, and David could not tell in his mind where the boat ended and Owen began.”

This quotation demonstrates the depth of connection between Owen and his boat, the Frog, which now belongs to David. The scent of the cabin evokes strong memories of Owen, so much so that David conflates Owen with the boat itself and is unable to think of the two as distinct entities. The Frog, in this moment, symbolizes David’s relationship with Owen as well as serving as a stand-in for Owen himself. This impression will later be strengthened when David finds Owen’s logs and is metaphorically able to share ideas with his uncle, hearing his “voice” and benefiting from his wisdom and guidance one last time.

“Memories. Somehow the good ones cut the worst. The sweeter the memory the more it hurt. Stupid how that worked.”

David has been reflecting on previous moments out on the Frog with Uncle Owen, and this contemplation causes him to feel a sudden stab of grief and heartache. As is characteristic of Paulsen’s writing, the author uses short, terse statements to describe deep emotions, implying that such internal experiences are simply too intense to fully express in words. In this passage, David notes that although he was recalling Owen while he was alive and healthy, thinking about a positive moment in their lives together, the memory nonetheless evokes sadness in him. He considers the irony that happy memories about someone who has recently died are sometimes the most painful moments to recall.

“David thought of the small box on the shelf below. Life. All that Owen had been reduced to a small container of ashes. Life.”

In this passage, Paulsen uses repetition to create a sense of David’s fixation on his grief, highlighting The Tension Between Life and Death. David has been carrying Uncle Owen’s ashes with him, bringing them on board the Frog with plans to scatter them at sea in accordance with Owen’s last wishes. He reflects on the fact that Owen, who was such a robust and powerful man in life, is now nothing more than a small box of ash, and the contrast between these two images overwhelms him. He finds it almost hard to believe that an entire human life, especially one as vibrant and intense as Owen’s, could be condensed and contained in such a cold, inert form. Thus, the repeated word “life” takes on a stark and grief-stricken tone.

“Every time they cleared the harbor, or every time that David was with him, Owen had become silent, looking out at the sea. It was a silence of thought, almost of reverence, a kind of worship, and David now did the same, felt the same.”

In this passage, David recalls the fondness and awe with which Owen viewed the sea. As David now finds himself in the grip of similar emotion, he reflects on Owen’s habit of gazing out at the water in quiet wonder that bordered on religious fervor. As David embarks on what will be Owen’s “last voyage,” he now imitates Owen’s behavior and finds that he feels the same way, thereby forging a deeper connection with Owen even though his uncle has died. This passage also foreshadows the many times on his adventure that David will encounter the ocean as a place of wonder and as a force that should be viewed with respect.

“It was so beautiful it took his breath away, and he thought it was like a path for the boat. No, not the boat—it was a path for Owen. A golden path for Owen.”

David is sailing out into the sunset, and his wake causes a bright, golden line to be cast onto the surface of the water. The color and the brightness greatly impress David, and he considers that the sun and the ocean are both lighting the way for Owen’s last voyage. Thus, even at the start of his journey, he perceives deeper spiritual connections to the world around him, and he is already developing a reverence and respect for the Pacific, following in his uncle’s footsteps and honoring his lessons. This moment reassures David that he is going in the right direction, and that following this path will guide Owen to his final resting place. This is the first of many instances in which David will embrace a sight of natural beauty that makes him feel unique, as if it is occurring just for him.

“Maybe I can’t learn it all. But maybe I can get close enough.”

This quote was spoken by Owen himself, and David remembers his uncle’s words as he reflects on the many ways in which Owen loved knowledge and embraced the lifelong quest to learn new things. David recalls that Owen’s dream was to gain as much knowledge as he could, and when David initially viewed this dream with surprise and skepticism, Owen explained that his goal was to learn “enough,” implying that he wished to gain a deeper understanding of the world as a whole. This remembered quote emphasizes the significance of knowledge, which will become a recurring motif throughout the text. Additionally, David will come to rely on his own observations and Owen’s past lessons as he attempts to survive at sea. Owen’s thoughts on knowledge and learning will come to him often, serving as a reminder and a source of motivation.

“He had been certain he was dead and suddenly there was blue life all around him and he could not make himself think of what to do.”

After the powerful storm that blows him off course and knocks him unconscious, David awakens far out in the ocean, surrounded by nothing but open ocean. He is grateful that he is not dead and therefore interprets the bright blueness of the water that surrounds him as a symbol of life, of being alive. At the same time, he notes the contradiction between his gratitude for being alive and the realization that his life is now marked by emptiness and fear. He begins to panic, unable to determine what his next steps should be to survive.

“And you said not to panic, a small voice told him—why not panic? You’re alone three hundred plus miles at sea in a small boat. You deserve to panic. Go ahead and panic.”

In this quote, David is speaking to himself, telling himself that panic and fear are reasonable reactions to his current situation. He acknowledges the fact that he is utterly lost and is stranded a great distance from the nearest shore. His inner voice urges him to give in to his anxiety, and David’s internal argument at this moment demonstrates that he has no one to talk to but himself, drawing attention to the overarching theme of isolation. This quote also stands in contrast to the way that David will eventually harness his anxiety and transform his feelings of isolation into a calmer sense of independence.

“One hand for the ship. The most important thing now wasn’t his fear, it wasn’t his location or even how much water and food he had. It was the Frog his whole life depended on the Frog and if he didn’t take care of her—give one hand for the ship—none of the rest of it was likely to matter.”

David recalls an old nautical phrase, “one hand for the ship, one hand for the sailor,” which helps him to determine his survival plan. The meaning of the phrase is that to have a successful voyage at sea, sailors must take care of themselves as well as their boat. David recognizes that no matter the gravity of his circumstances, the first step to making it home alive is to make sure the Frog is safe and in good shape. This acknowledgment signifies the beginning of David’s relationship with the Frog—that they will sink or swim together.

“Knowledge was for times like this, David thought, rolling with the shark attacks. To have knowledge makes everything endurable. It’s everything.”

David experiences a harrowing shark attack one night on the Frog, and he fears that the shark that is throwing himself against the side of the boat in an attempt to devour him. However, he remembers that sharks mostly attack on instinct and that the reflection of light on the boat must be drawing its attention. This thought reassures David, and it occurs to him that significant knowledge will be essential to his journey and his survival. This moment also connects him with Owen, as David gains a new appreciation for the importance of Owen’s quest for knowledge, especially as it relates to survival at sea. This is also his first experience with the fact that reinterpreting a situation logically can help alleviate the initial fear of the unknown.

“So he wasn’t just hungry. He was hungry with all his mind and body mixed in, hungry with the whole mix of his life caught in it.”

In this quote, David is reflecting on the intensity of the hunger he feels while stranded on the Frog. He realizes that his hunger goes beyond the mere physical desire for food; for the first time in his life, there is an urgency to his hunger that somehow encompasses his whole body and also impacts his mind. Faced with the prospect of starvation for the first time in his life, David finds that his thoughts about food only heighten the feeling he is experiencing. David realizes that he has never felt hunger to this degree or in this way before. He acknowledges that he must control his mind and body if he is to quell this hunger.

“David felt strange reading it, as if he were prying somehow, but yet he couldn’t stop reading it either.”

In this passage, David has discovered his uncle’s sailing log, which he did not know existed. As he reads it, he realizes that the entries in the log feel more like those in a journal or diary, for they reflect personal thoughts and observations and go beyond a mere record of Owen’s various sailing voyages. David notes that the experience of reading his uncle’s log is almost uncomfortable because of its private and intimate nature. At the same time, he finds himself drawn to it, realizing that this is his last chance to regain a semblance of personal connection with the man he loved and lost. Not only is David able to learn from the words that Owen has left for him, benefitting from his uncle’s knowledge, but he also becomes motivated to write in the log himself.

“[H]e hated himself more than all the rest. Hated his stupidity for sailing so far out before the storm took him. It was insane to do that, just stupid and insane. Hated himself for learning to sail, for wanting to sail. Why couldn’t he just want to have a normal life on shore? Why did he have to be so stupid and want to sail and want to learn from Owen? And in the end, in the steaming little pit of hatred and poison, he found himself, he found the David he needed.”

The repetitive, circuitous nature of this passage reflects the downward spiral of David’s despairing thoughts after the near miss with the passing oil tanker. His intense frustration about his situation borders on self-hatred. He berates himself for allowing himself to become lost at sea due to poor planning and foresight, and he hates himself for wanting to go out on the ocean and be like his uncle. However, in the depths of his anger and self-loathing, David reaches his lowest point and eventually finds the inspiration and motivation he needs to survive. His negative feelings of anger and frustration prompt him to become a better version of himself—the version that will allow him to make it through his ordeal by Developing Self-Reliance and Survival Skills.

“A faint breeze, a touch on his cheek, just enough to move the ends of his hair, the sail moving back and forth gently. Wind.”

In this passage, David is describing the sensations he feels when the wind finally returns after several days of being “becalmed” at sea. Rather than making a grand entrance, the wind greets him with a gentle friendliness, and it is so light that it is almost unnoticeable. This version of the wind stands in contrast to the fearsome and powerful gales that originally blew him off course. The gentle conditions demonstrate that the wind comes in many forms, some overwhelming and others more benign and helpful. David learns to take a similar view of the ocean and appreciate it in all its forms, from the gentlest breezes to the deadliest of waves.

“They were beautiful and frightening, stunningly frightening at the same time. He felt lost, empty, gone—if they wanted they could reach over and take him, just pluck him out of the boat any time.”

As David sets sail for the first time in days, he finds his boat surrounded by a pod of large orcas, or killer whales. He is struck by their size and sheer power and realizes that they could easily sink his boat or drag him to the bottom of the sea. At the same time, he finds them astonishing and awe-inspiring, describing them as “beautiful” in their way. This dichotomy between intense power and striking beauty reflects the way that the ocean and the natural world are depicted throughout the novel, especially as David grows to understand and respect the ocean to a greater degree.

“He looked down at his bare feet, planted firmly on the floor of the cockpit, the vibration, the hum, the life of the Frog coming up through them into his legs, and he knew it would be we from now on. They were together, a thing of the sea and the wind and man all joined in a single dance.”

In this passage, David reflects on his relationship with and connection to his boat, the Frog. Using the metaphor of a dance, he notices the way it moves with the wind and actively personifies it, imagining that it is almost alive. He realizes that he and the boat are now inseparable, just as he once considered the Frog to be inseparable from Owen. David acknowledges that as their journey continues, he and the Frog will need to work as one united force, and he resolves to no longer think of his own life as distinct from that of his boat.

“If I were a dolphin, he thought suddenly, if I were a dolphin I would be the kind that swims just in front of the boat and leaps out of the water and spirals. I would be a dolphin that dances.”

David is in high spirits after being able to set sail again and make his way back to the coast. He reflects on the various encounters that he has had, as well as the marine life he has seen, remembering the dolphin that crested in front of the boat. He thinks to himself that that is the creature he would like to be. His recollections of the dancing dolphins mirror his view of the dancing boat, and because he has become so deeply connected to the rhythms of the Frog. He finds that a new appreciation for the ocean has become a deep part of his identity, and when he wishes to meld with the intense seascape and become a dolphin that jumps and dances, this moment reflects how profoundly his adventure has changed him, for he is now a confident and hopeful young man.

“He thought, there are waves making up, and that was a nautical way to think, and he didn’t know why he’d think that way now, but he did.”

As David continues to sail, the swells around him begin to change and grow larger. He immediately notes to himself that the waves are “making up,” which is the way a seasoned sailor would refer to changing surf. He is surprised that he almost instinctively thinks of the waves in this way, and it occurs to him that he has been profoundly changed over the course of his journey. He is no longer an uncertain young boy and a rookie sailor; instead, he has become a young man with nautical knowledge and confidence on the open ocean.

“See them, Frog? See them dance for us? He wished intensely that he had someone to share it with and that wish made him think of his parents and Owen and in turn made them think of them, miss them, so that it almost stopped his breath. He forced his mind back to the whales.”

While anchored in a natural cove, David finds himself surrounded by a pod of whales, many of which begin to breach and jump in the water. He is struck by the majestic quality of their movements, likening them to a dance. He also acknowledges that he is not the only one bearing witness to this natural wonder, for he perceives the Frog as a companion who shares this unique moment with him. However, despite his sense of not being alone, David nonetheless finds himself wishing that other loved ones, such as his parents and Uncle Owen, could witness this moment as well. The thought reminds him of his grief for the first time in many days, and he suppresses these negative feelings to focus on the impressive sight before him, thereby demonstrating a deeper sense of maturity and self-control.

“He knew now that swells were telegraph systems, that they came ahead of the weather, and that large swells moving this hard and fast probably meant a fair storm.”

This passage further demonstrates the knowledge that David has gained from his time at sea. He is now able to recognize that the swells around him can signal important changes in weather and the wind. Rather than being caught off-guard by the capricious Pacific and its ever-changing weather, he now realizes that certain kinds of swells indicate the rising intensity of an impending storm, and he can act accordingly. The approach of another storm also creates an important “bookend” to David’s experience on the ocean, as it is an opportunity for him to utilize the skills he has gained as a sailor and navigator. The second storm—and David’s successful attempt to navigate it—stand as a badge of honor and a confirmation that he has transformed into a capable survivalist and is ready to meet all the challenges that his future may hold.

“And David was different now. He was not panicking, banging around to stow gear below. His thoughts careful and even. ‘We’re going to get hit,’ he said aloud, calmly, talking to the Frog. ‘Let’s get ready.’”

As the second storm hits, David realizes that he has changed significantly since he was first blown off course. He compares his behavior and mentality in the current moment to his previous reactions, noting that he is no longer overly anxious; instead, he is approaching the storm carefully and thoughtfully. He also acknowledges that the Frog is an important teammate in this endeavor, and his sense of connection to his uncle’s boat showcases a notable change in his character, demonstrating how much he has grown since the beginning of the novel.

“[H]e would not let her do it alone again, not let the sea have her again.”

This quote encapsulates the care that David feels for the Frog, as he assures himself that he will not abandon her to the sea or leave her to weather the storm alone. Last time, he inadvertently left her to founder when he was knocked unconscious, but now, he is committed to assisting her as she makes her way through the wind and the waves. This passage also clearly personifies the Frog, showing that the boat has evolved from being a mere vehicle or symbol and has become a character in her own right.

“David rubbed the wooden boom with one hand. The wood felt warm, smooth, and alive. She was alive. The ship had blocked most of the wind but enough flurried around to make the Frog’s sails slap a bit and they jerked the boom gently. There was no other way. ‘I got here with her and I’m going home with her. That’s it.’”

In this scene, David has just been offered an opportunity to return home safely on board a whaling research vessel. However, the captain has informed him that he must leave the Frog behind. As he considers his options, David thinks about his emotional and material connection to the boat. As he notices the way she feels under his hand, he notes that she seems to be “alive,” and because so much of his survival has been due to his faithful boat, he knows that he cannot leave her behind. Connecting back to his identification with her—the idea that “I” has become “we”—he decides that they must return to their home together. Additionally, the extent of David’s growth is implicitly apparent in the fact that he has transformed from wishing to be rescued to actively making his way in the world despite the risks involved.