WAVE – AN EXTRACT FROM THE NOVEL "WAVE"

by Sonali Deraniyagala
About: how she and her family faced an unexpected natural disaster (The great Tsunami of 2004)
When: 26th December 2004 (Boxing Day)
Where: Yala Safari Beach Hotel in the south of Sri Lanka
The extract covers only a small part of the story. It is from the moment she caught sight of the
initial waves of the tsunami to the moment she began to feel half consciously that her body was whipping
backwards and forwards.
 The tsunami carried her two miles inland and she was able to survive by clinging on a tree branch.
She was almost naked as she has been stripped off by the violent drift away against plants and
bushes.
 In her narrative, she is being genuine and true to herself and gives a detailed description of the whole
drama by recalling very carefully the incident.
 She keeps back her feelings but at times she could not suppress the emotions.
The entire story describes how she survived the Tsunami itself and then how she survived the shocks
of unbearable grief and irreplaceable great loss of her loved ones.
The novel which starts with a very happy relaxed family experience unfolds to tell us a story of grief
and love and human suffering and endurance. It also shows the innate instinct with which people
face an unforeseen calamity and also the power and importance of love.

FIRST SCENE OF TSUNAMI

Analysis
Sonali and her family were on holiday, staying in a beach-side hotel on the morning of 26 th December
2004. The morning would have been bright and pleasant as usual. Even the hotel atmosphere would have
been quiet and relaxing.
Sonali and her family were ready to leave the hotel. She was there with her husband Steve, her sons Vik
and Malli, her parents from the States, and her friend Orlantha.
At the beginning, nobody thought that a big wave was a sign of a deadly tsunami.
In a few minutes, Sonali understood the gravity of the situation. Her intuition guided her to take a quick
action to face that unidentified natural disaster.

ESCAPE FROM THE DANGER OF TSUNAMI

Analysis:
Both Sonali and Steve realized that they had no other alternative except getting out of the hotel as quickly
as possible. At that particular moment, Sonali had to perform several roles such as a mother, wife, daughter
and friend. But it was impossible for her to perform all those roles at once when facing such a sudden
unexpected disaster.
She let her instinct to guide her. It is natural for any mother to think about her kids first. That is why she
held her children's hands and run.
But she was unable to perform the role as a daughter. It was a moment of urgency and emergency to take
the decision whether to protect the lives of children or parents.
Anton displayed his humanity, love and affection for his wife by jumping out of the vehicle in order not to
leave her alone. It was a very pathetic scene because both of them were lying on the gravel to face the fate
together.

THE WRITER'S CONCERN FOR PARENTS

Analysis
When Sonali remembered her parents, she felt guilty, conscious of leaving them in the hotel. She was
worried as she did not take them out of their room to run with them. It is quite obvious that they would
have become victims of the high tides that invaded the hotel.

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The children were very much attached to their grandparents. Steve's words not only gave an assurance to
the child but also Sonali was reassured by making her optimistic about her parents' living without any
danger.

THE JEEP WAS IN WATER

Analysis
Sonali found difficult to realize what was happening at that moment. During the short time of relaxed
mood, she remembered her parents. But immediately she had to think about the children and her husband.
However, the increasing water could not suppress their maternal and paternal love towards the children.
Their struggle was to save the children at the expense of their lives.
Did they have any idea it was Tsunami? Most probably no, as they had never experienced such a natural
disaster before in their lives. If they had had any previous experience, they would have tried to find out a
higher elevation. It is known that those people who were on high places could survive.

SONALI'S LONELY STRUGGLE WITH TSUNAMI TIDAL WAVES

Analysis
At the end of the extract, Sonali does not mention about her sons and the husband. It is quite clear that they
were no more with her.
She had to struggle alone for her survival in the flood of water.

THEMES
Unexpected natural disasters and their impact
Natural disasters happen all over the world and they can be devastating for people's lives and the
environment in which they live. As natural disasters are caused by nature, there is nothing that we can do to
prevent them happening. There are many different natural causes that lead to natural disasters: floods,
landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, and wildfire.
Sri Lanka was one of the countries struck by an undersea quake near Indonesia on December 26, 2004. It
brought deaths to nearly 230,000 people, and half a million people were displaced from their homes.
Though we are scientifically and technologically advanced in this century, we still face and suffer the
consequences of natural disasters.
Theme of love and sacrifice
The theme "love and sacrifice" can be analyzed by paying attention to the characters and the different
situations they encounter.
Mother's love is vividly expressed in Sonali's book "Wave".
Mother is a figure that plays an important role in people's life. Mothers make sure that their children are
safe and happy.
There is a famous saying "God could not be everywhere and so he invented mothers". We get a lot of news
showing that mothers are willing to sacrifice their life for their own children.
After her children, Sonali gives next priority to her husband. Her strong love for her husband is clearly
expressed when she says: "No, it can't be Steve. Don't let be him".
The writer also loves her parents but finds difficult to accomplish three roles at the same time at such
crucial time. Her guilty consciousness of leaving her parents in the hotel room reveals her love for the
parents.
It is also natural that grand children love their grandparents very much. That is because they have more
time to spend with them and show their love towards each other unlike the busy parents.
Nature of humanity: love, compassion, sharing, caring.
The writer displays her maternal love to the top when the tidal waves invade the hotel. She gives the
priority to her family members for survival. The writer's parents were in the next room when the tsunami
waves approached, but she did not inform them what was happening. The writer's guilty conscience comes
out while she runs out of the hotel.

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 She had only two options:
- One to stay at the hotel and die together.
- The other was to run with her two sons and the husband.
It is evident that the circumstances compelled her to be a little bit selfish for the life of her two children.
Humanity:
- See the example of Anton, Orlantha's father, who jumped out of the jeep to stay with his wife.
- - And the example of the jeep's driver as he was waiting for others to get in. if he had been self centered, he
could have left alone.
LITERARY TECHNIQUES
TITLE
The title of the book is WAVE. The subtitle is A MEMOIR OF LIFE AFTER THE TSUNAMI.
A memoir usually reflects the writer's own experiences and memories.
NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
It contains 21 paragraphs. The writer presents everything recorded in her memory in a more methodical,
live and authentic manner.
NARRATIVE FORM
The first person narrative form is used and helps the author share her experience, feelings, emotions and
awful moments.

LANGUAGE
It is presented in the Past tense to make the narration very clear and convincing.
Some of the language expressions used creates a sense of immediacy, urgency and confusion.
The interrogative sentences create suspense.
The repetitions are presented in negative form so as to bring out sorrow, grief and confusion as well.
I didn't stop for my parents. I didn't stop to knock … I didn't stop to bang … I couldn't stop
Other repetitions: suddenly furious … suddenly menacing … give me one of them … give me one of
them … they will come later. They will come!
The author uses short sentences as well as incomplete sentences to express restlessness, horror, and
panic at the moment.
VISUAL IMAGERY
All the visual imagery helps us get a vivid picture of the physical background. We can even visualize the
development of the tsunami tidal waves.
AUDITORY IMAGERY
The running very fast towards the drive way.
The yelling to the driver.
The crying of Vikram.
The banging of Steve's heel on the floor of the jeep.
The snarling sound of the jeep engine.
TACTILE IMAGERY
Her grabbing the two sons.
Holding the boys in each hand.
Steve held on to Vikram, clasping him to his chest.
Steve and his wife lifted the boys with their hands.
ALLITERATION
It was just a glint of blue above that wide Spread of Sand that Sloped Sharply down the water.
Brown and gray. Brown and gray.