I Am Still Alive

Content Warning: This section contains descriptions of violence.

“The sunlight is weak and thin through the thick gray mass of clouds, which hang so low they shroud the jagged tops of the trees. The forest has never looked so much like teeth.”

In this description of Jess’s view of the wilderness following her father’s death and the burning of the cabin, she sees the wild as a threatening and foreign place. Consonance is used in this passage to add a poetic effect to the imagery presented. The many “t” words sound harsh and discordant, and a simile is used to compare the appearance of the forest to menacing teeth.

“If you can’t be strong, you have to be smart. And smart is better than strong, out here.”

By Overcoming Disability Through Ingenuity, Jess is able to survive. She relies on her intelligence rather than her physical strength because it is her greatest asset, and she uses clever tools and contraptions to overcome situations that would otherwise demand physical strength. Jess also relies on advice from people who are not present, and these words in her memory bring her comfort and much-needed information.

“None of it would have happened if he hadn’t dragged me out here and I wish I had never seen him again and I wish here was here now.”

This passage encapsulates Jess’s conflicting emotions about her father and her regret over the relationship that they never managed to have. She knows that it is because of him that she is stranded in the wilderness, but she also loves her father unconditionally and wants him by her side.