Shipwreck

Food and water are symbols of survival. Food is also used to highlight Mr. Radford’s cruelty, as he feeds the crew insubstantial meals of dry toast and beans. When the ocean gets rough, he makes greasy scrambled eggs and liver and onions—a decision he makes purely for the pleasure of seeing the kids miserable. When Radford later abandons the kids, he takes most of the food, leaving them to starve. Conversely, toast and ginger ale—appropriate food for seasickness when the ocean gets rough—is brought to the crew by Captain Cascadden, who has the crew’s well-being at heart. After losing The Phoenix, lack of food and water pushes the survivors close to death. They experience a thirst “deeper and stronger” than anything they have felt before, and “[t]he hunger mingled with the thirst to produce a never-ending dull ache that gripped each survivor from head to toe” (113). Once the survivors land on the island, Luke raises the rubber hat full of rainwater “like a champagne glass” (128) and makes a toast, demonstrating the value of basics like water for survival.