How Are Names Used to Tell the Story of the Man Who Loved Islands?

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Names are a key narrative method in this short story. They are carefully constructed with symbolic meaning and suggestions of what is to come. Often characters are un-named which encourages the reader to think more carefully about their name if they are. When the man first arrives on the island he is addressed as the ‘islander’. Perhaps this suggests the idea that the man is aiming to strip away life and personality in order to become closer to nature and discover himself. It also hints at the man’s desire to become disconnected from human contact which becomes more apparent as the story goes on. The name has a great lack of identity, almost as if he views himself as different from other human beings; he looks for the ‘insulation’ of an island and fears ‘overpopulation’. As the islander continues to make ‘a world of his own’ we read that people on the island address him as ‘the Master’. Although we gain a sense that the people on the island were grateful to him and knew how well off they were, the gushing title seems strongly suggestive of the false ‘happiness and perfection’ he finds in the first island. The title, ‘Master’ presents him as a godly figure of worship seeking control of his followers. The idea of control could be seen as ironic. The story tells us that nature brings disorder and no matter how hard we may try, it is impossible to control and become master of nature and the elements. Throughout the section on the first island, the character is addressed as both the ‘islander’ and the ‘Master’. This suggests a lack of contentment as if he has not created the ‘perfect’ island he desired or discovered himself as a person. The fact that he is not always addressed as the ‘Master’ begins to hint at his lack of control and the idea that not everyone on the island likes him, ‘the old carpenter was sometimes sincerely rude to him’. When the character

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