Essay Questions

Who was Marina and what are her primary character traits?

Marina was a young girl of fourteen years who resented her family because of the accidental acid attack by her father. She was shifted to a boarding school owing to her quietness regarding the matter. After coming to the boarding school, she remains isolated and introvert. She observes her class fellows but she doesn't participate with them in anything. Gradually she starts trusting others and forgives her father.

How does Marina get out of her trauma?

Marina was so disturbed because of the acid incident that she doesn't tell anyone about her grief. She keeps her emotions inside her but when her English teacher asks her to keep a journal, she starts writing her secrets in the diary. She gets a catharsis through the diary and comes out of the trauma. Her class fellows and Lindell's family also help her in getting out of her traumatic past.

With Whom does Marina speak for the first time?

After recovering from her mental illness, Marina feels an urge to reunite with her family. She forgives the person whom she resents the most I.e. her father and speaks to him for the first time. She didn't utter a word during her stay in the boarding school but showed some gestures. It was only after meeting her father that she open her mouth to utter the words. She asks Mrs. Ransome for her father's address and goes to meet him. After meeting him she says, "Hello father, I have so much to tell you."

How has the writer demonstrated Marina's emotions?

The writer has demonstrated Marina's emotions through the language, techniques and structure of the journal. The fragmented imagery in the beginning symbolizes her broken self and as the novel progresses, she starts becoming whole again. Although she was disconnected and distanced from other but after giving vent to her feelings and emotions through writing in journal, she gains the strength and courage to get over her past. Her fears disappear and she breaks the chains which confines her to herself.