A Wizard of Earthsea- Reading Journal
Name: Leo Simkin Date: 4/14/13 Chapter#: 8

Setting: 1. Islet out in the Reach- Here he finds the hut with the castaways, he also recovers from his encounter with the shadow. 2. Before and after Ged sees the shadow when he is on the boat. 3. The castaways which live the hut are in a remote location.

Characters: 1. The Castaways on the Islet- they let Ged stay in their hut and gave him food and water as he fixed his boat. 2. The Shadow- Attacks Ged towards the end of the chapter then flees. 3. Ged- Goes hunting for the Shadow and meets him twice in this chapter. He scares the shadow away the first time but is attacked the second time.

Main Events: 1. Ged calls for the shadow as he is on his boat and then chases after it using magewinds. The shadow runs onto land and Ged crashes his boat onto the rocks. After almost drowning, Ged crawls along the sand and finally comes across a hut. There he meets the castaways that don’t speak his language. They give him food and water as he fixes his boat. 2. Ged goes hunting for the shadow again and is surprised when the shadow appears behind him on his boat. The shadow attacks him then flees. Ged then realizes he is not the hunted or the hunter now. He finally sees that there is no need to hunt the shadow down and that it is best wait till the time comes to kill it once and for all. 3. Ged sails toward the Kargad lands. There he stays with the villagers that give him food, water, and a bed so he can finally sleep. Ged realizes that until the shadow comes to him, there will never be peace for Ged. Only thoughts of when the shadow will come and if he will be able to defeat him.

Conflicts:
Internal- Ged realizes he will never be at peace unless the shadow is dead.
External- After Ged’s encounters with the shadow, he is weak and needs to recover.

Your reactions/opinions/ predictions:
I liked when Ged met the castaways on the Islet because they were very kind to him and helped him recover. They gave him food, water, and shelter in their hut. Because of his encounter with these people he was able to recover and fix his boat. However, I disliked when the shadow appeared on Ged’s boat because Ged wasn’t prepared to meet the shadow like this and he was attacked. I was just as surprised as Ged was because I didn’t think the shadow would be there with Ged.

Analysis and Interpretation:
The picture at the beginning of the chapter relates to the events that took place within the chapter in various ways. The picture shows dolphins leaping through the waves. In the chapter, as Ged is chasing the shadow, he feels like a dolphin leaping through the waves. As stated in the chapter, “With hand and spell Ged turned his boat, and it leaped like a dolphin from the water.” Also, when Ged was on his boat he thought about changing into a dolphin because he felt that it would be quicker. But he remembered the wise words of Ogion and didn’t change himself.