Essay Questions

Give one example of the dramatic irony used in the novel Continental Drift?

At the beginning of the novel, the author introduces Bob Dubois as an ambitious man who is ready to defend what is right. He is determined to work hard and earn a genuine salary and that is why he decides to work in his brother’s liquor store when he arrives in Florida. His seal to protect his dignity is demonstrated when he shoots a robber who is trying to steal from the liquor store. However, things take a dramatic turn when Bob gets into a relationship with Avery Boone who introduces him to smuggling business. As a result, Bob turns out to be criminal making huge sums of money from trafficking drugs and refugees to America. The reader finds it satirical that Dubois's character can change drastically to embrace doing what is considered evil.

How is the title of the story Continental Drift symbolic?

From the geographical perspective, continental drift is described as the shifting of the tectonic plates to create new islands. However, the author uses this concept symbolically to represent the drifting of human relations. The character Bob is representative of the drift in human relations. He moves from one country to the other and realizes that all aspects of life are slowly changing to form new ones. For instance, when he returns to Florida, he realizes that the population of the Black Americans is slowly increasing than it used to be. Additionally, the number of immigrants in America is increasing due to the increasing level of human trafficking, especially from Haiti. Similarly, Bob shifts from one relationship to the other trying to create a new stable relationship with a potential partner.

How does smuggling emerge as one of the key themes in Continental Drift?

The author describes the relationship between Bob Dubois and Avery Boone as money-spinning and the reader takes a keen interest to understand the reason behind it. The reader later discovers that Avery Boone is one of the biggest drugs and refugee traffickers in America. This business of smuggling is described as lucrative because of the huge profits it brings to the smugglers. The author is developing this theme to help the reader understand that most of the refugees in the American soil were smuggled. Additionally, drug trafficking has a history in America because it started many years ago and it is a highly profitable illegal business.