the ocean at the end of the lane

There are several characters in the novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane. The characters in the book The Ocean at the End of the Lane are Lettie Hempstock and an un-named protagonist. The un-named protagonist is a seven years old boy and is the character that tells the story, on a first person point of view. “ I was seven years old, no longer a little child, but I was wetting myself with fear, like a baby, and there was nothing I could do about it, while Ursula Monkton hung in the air above me and watched, dispassionately” (Gaiman 75). The second main character is Lettie Hempstock; she is a twelve years old girl and is the one who “invited” The un-named protagonist to this magical world. For instance she is the one who brought the protagonist to the Hempstock farm and that is where he got the magic worm stuck to his feet. One can see how the principal characters of this novel are the un-named protagonist and Lettie.

Throughout Neil Gaiman’s book there has been a few settings revealed. Two settings that are in the novel are Sussex, England and the Hempstock Farm. One of the settings is Lettie’s farm because almost the entire volume takes place there. For instance it is where the climax occurred and where most of the symbolic events happened. The main setting is Sussex, England that is where the story takes place. “I drove along winding Sussex country roads I only half remembered” (Gaiman 13). In this quote the character is forty-three years old and is going back to his homeland because the entire story is technically a flashback. To conclude one can see how the main settings are Sussex and the Hempstock Farm.

Many element of figurative language have been demonstrated to the readers in this novel. Figurative examples in the story are personification and metaphor. Personification was used in the book because when Lettie and the protagonist were against the supernatural they gave human characteristics to the weather. “The ground hit my stomach, and the wind knocked out of me”(Gaiman 125). Many metaphors where used throughout the book mostly when Lettie and the protagonist were fighting with Ursula. “She was the storm, she was the lighting, she was the adult world with all it power and all it’s secrets” (Gaiman 76). Conclusively the readers can see how some element of figurative language in the book are metaphors and personification.

The book has had many symbols presented to us. Symbols proven to the readers during the book were the pond and the Hempstock Farm. The Hempstock farm is one of the symbols because it represents the magical world and how this entire book revolves around it. For instance Ursula Monkton, she is the main conflict in the novel and she was originally being held in the Hempstock farm. Until the protagonist came and she was able to get inside him. Finally the main symbol is the pond, the pond is what permits Lettie to stay alive as she sacrificed herself for the protagonist the pond gave her power to relive. Lettie says the pond is really an ocean and the protagonist understands why because at the end it is revealed that the lake is an ocean of all the knowledge in the world and represents knowledge and can do everything. “And it wasn’t a pond. It was an ocean. Lettie Hempstock’s ocean” (Gaiman 17). “I knew that when I was in the ocean, and I knew everything. I understood it all” (Gaiman 116). To finalize the audience can see how two significant symbols of this novel are the pond and the Hempstock Farm.