Appreciation of Island Works

The theme of Lonely Island: Hope and Rebirth.

Spinalonga is special, its special originally comes from leprosy, and it has become a sad and desperate death in the eyes of the world because it has become an isolated area for leprosy patients. The inhabitants of the island are unwilling to give in. They see spinalonga as a place of redemption. Although they are suffering from diseases, they try to make themselves better, and try to turn the long bones in the spine into a normal place, a place that can be called home.

There are churches that provide spiritual protection for residents, schools that provide educational opportunities for children, restaurants that meet with friends, and shops that provide daily needs. Apart from physical torture, life on the island is no different from that outside. Both island owners are elected by the people, and one after another they strive for the greatest interests and protection for the islanders. Over the years, the two doctors insisted on finding a cure for the patients, and finally succeeded, so that the cured patients returned to their relatives, and the patients who had not recovered for the time being were also transferred to Athens for better treatment. This small island, which is only the size of a hill and can't be found on the map, was reborn from despair. The power to regenerate it comes from the people on the island, from the two island owners Kantumaris and PapaDimitrio and their subordinates, from Dr. Rapakis and Dr. Kritis, from Elaine and Maria, from all the ordinary people on the island who have not succumbed to the cruel fate, and from the amazing power generated by their tortured bodies.

The meaning of the name spinalonga is not despair or taboo, but hope and rebirth, which is an amazing light of human nature. Crete has beautiful scenery, and its beauty makes people feel very comfortable; Spinalonga, on the other hand, should have lofty beauty, which is dark and obscure from the outside, but the stories that happened during this period and the islanders' efforts to fight against fate are enough to shock the soul and arouse the lofty beauty in their hearts.

In the novel Lonely Island, the lofty emotion is the struggle between Elaine and Maria, George's patient guardian, the sympathy and love of doctors, not Anna and Manoli's pursuit of pleasure and selfish indulgence, nor Sophia's escape from reality and abandonment of her relatives.

People on the island, no matter how poor or rich they used to be, are full of love for each other. Despite the harsh conditions on the island, people have created a democratic, equal, fair, just, United and friendly society in this "filthy and desolate" ominous place and become a "model of democratic society". Love is the decoding of all life puzzles. Therefore, at the end of the novel, the author hopes that dead island's desire for final rebirth will be accepted by mainland society; Sophia relieved herself of a heavy burden and was no longer ashamed of being the descendant of lepers, adulterers and murderers, but "treated her elders like characters in movies." Finally, there is no shame, only heroism, no infidelity, only passion, no leprosy, only love. "Describe it.

The novel tells with its true description and narration, just like listening to an old woman, recalling the bitter past with a desolate and sad tone.

"The old olive oil jar contains basil, mint and small storage jar, and the big pottery jar filled with oil or water has cracked, just becoming the home of geraniums, lilies and other plants that need careful care"; Housework is like dancing, extracting dyes from iris, hibiscus and chrysanthemum petals to dye wool; Weave all kinds of grass into beautiful baskets and mats; Collect all kinds of herbs in the mountains and mix them into herbs. Maria is full of selfless love for life. Although her sister's willfulness and unruly behavior bored her, she was still kind to her sister and raised Sophia for her.

Summarizing the core story of the novel, the author wrote two generations of women with three different life experiences.

The first generation of women is Elaine: Elaine is a good teacher. She treats her students like children. When she found out that she had leprosy and had to be sent to the isolated spinalonga with one of her students, she accepted it.

The second generation of women are the daughters of Elaine and Guiorguis: they were children when their mother left. They have to accept the reality that from now on, there will be only fathers, and there will be no more mothers. The whole life lacks warmth. Although Giorgis is a kind person, no one wants to send spinalonga materials and gifts. Only he dedicated his youth to the isolated island where leprosy has lived for decades. However, a big man lived with two children. Shortly after the outbreak of World War II, the country was occupied by Dekou, and he went through hardships for the survival of his children.

Psychological description

The novel uses a lot of psychological descriptions and is nuanced. The whole article adopts documentary style and realistic image.

Alexis arrived in Crete and visited her mother's hometown-Buracas and Spinalonga on the north coast. It is precisely because of spinalonga Island, a leprosy and leprosy quarantine area, that Sophia could not tell Alexis about her past, so she turned to Fortyny, a good friend of her adoptive mother. When Alexis found Fortyny with his mother's letter, Fortyny did not directly answer Alexis' life puzzle, but told Alexis, "Your mother's story is your grandmother's story, your great-grandmother's story and your aunt's story. Their lives are intertwined, which is what we Greeks call fate. The so-called fate is mainly determined by our ancestors, not the stars. When we talk about ancient history, we often say destiny takes a hand-but we don't mean uncontrollable things. Of course, events may suddenly change the trajectory of our lives, but what really decides to come to us is the behavior of people around us and the behavior of people who live before us. "

Maria, time seems to have stood still since she first set foot on the island of Spinalonga. Four years ago, she hated spinach. At that time, death seemed definitely better than life imprisonment on this island, but now, she is here and doesn't want to leave for a moment. In a few seconds, another life will begin, and she doesn't know what's in that life.

Rapakis read everything from her face. For him, life is about to bring new uncertainty, because his work in spinalonga is over. He will go to Athens, where he will stay with leprosy patients for several months. They were taken to Santa Barbara Hospital, and they still need treatment. However, after that, his own life, like the moon, will be unmarked on the map. "Come on," he said, "I think we should go. Your father must be waiting for us. "

They turned and went through the tunnel. Footsteps echoed around them. George is waiting at the other end. He sat on the low wall in the shade of acacia, smoking a cigarette, waiting for his daughter to come out of the tunnel. It seems that she will never come out again. Everyone on the island has left except Maria and Laskis. Like a picture in Noah's ark. Even donkeys, goats and cats were crossed to the other side. Except this ship, the last one left ten minutes ago. The dock is empty now. A small metal box, a bundle of letters, a whole cigarette and the traces left by this group of people when they evacuated in a hurry were left nearby. Maybe something was delayed. George thought in panic. Maybe Maria can't leave, maybe the doctor won't sign her health book.

Just when these vague ideas seemed to become a disturbing reality, Maria came out of the dark semi-circular tunnel and ran towards him. When she reached out and hugged him, Guiorguis forgot all other thoughts and doubts about the island. He felt her silky hair brush his rough skin, and he said nothing.

"Can we go now?" Maria finally asked. Her things have been put on the boat. Rapakis went up first, turned around and took Maria's hand. She got into the boat with one foot. Just then, she lifted the other foot that was still on the stone floor. Her life in spinalonga is over.

George untied his old sailboat and pushed it off the coast. Then, with rare agility at his age, he jumped on the boat and turned the bow. Soon, the ship left the island and headed for the mainland. His passengers greeted him in front. They looked at the sharp bow, like an arrow, and flew away towards the target. George didn't waste time. He can still see the spine clearly. The dark shape of the window faced him like an empty eye. Their unbearable emptiness reminded him of leprosy patients who had ended their blindness. Guiorguis suddenly remembered Elaine, just like the last time he saw her, standing on the dock; At that moment, he missed Elaine so much that he forgot all the happiness his daughter brought him.

contrast

Everyone's life is connected with the past, the surroundings and the future. The understanding of the true self comes from the reflection on history and the comparison with the surrounding environment.

In Lonely Island, the author puts four Alexis women-Elaine, Anna, Maria and Sophia-in the shadow of leprosy, and makes them experience fear, pain, helplessness, helplessness and even death threats, so as to examine how to choose life in the face of life changes, thus arousing modern people's numb nerves and awakening people to think about life and realize life by themselves.

The whole story of Lonely Island is always carried out in the contrast between Elaine and Maria's positive outlook on life and Anna and Sophia's negative outlook on life. Elaine and Maria are the embodiment of active life, dare to face the hardships and tribulations of life, be full of love, and always keep their innocence. Elaine is brave and persistent, never loses herself, always has someone else in her heart, and is full of love for her relatives and compatriots. Although she was finally killed by leprosy, it did not hinder the inheritance of her beautiful life. Maria is Elaine's legacy. In her life, life was destroyed and rebuilt, love was destroyed and hope was reborn. Although she was sad, people felt the splendor of flower of life. Anna and Sophia escape and take a negative attitude towards life adversity. Anna's escape trapped her in material desires, and finally she was bitten by desire. Sophia's escape made her abandon her adoptive parents and was deeply condemned by her conscience, unable to face her daughter.

On the island, in addition to the above comparison, there is another comparison, that is, the comparison of social group life between Spinalonga and Crete. Spinalonga Island is a leprosy isolation area abandoned by the whole society, which is almost isolated from the world. It is such an isolated island that has created a United, positive, perfect and healthy social ecology. In the society of this island country, there are two outstanding and dedicated political leaders elected by a perfect electoral system; Have a doctor, never give up, and fight with patients for a lifetime; Teachers dedicated to education; There are department stores, knife shops, high-end hotels, bakeries, pubs, barber shops and bakeries.