How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
When I opened my eyes the second view started my heart with a thump. The black southern hill of Koh-ring seemed to hang right over the ship like a towering fragment of the everlasting night. (2.174)
The captain realizes that he's putting himself and his entire crew in danger when he steers his ship toward the island of Koh-ring, but the man's got a plan. First, he needs to set his friend Leggatt free on the island, and second, he needs to force his crew to trust him, no matter how insane his orders might be. Let's hope he weathers this storm.
Quote #8
On my right hand there were lines of fishing stakes resembling a mysterious system of half-submerged bamboo fences, incomprehensible in its division of the domain of tropical fishes. (1.1)
The captain opens the story with a description of fishing weirs. But we can't tell whether the weirs are abandoned, because there's no sign of any human settlement in the area. The word "incomprehensible" is especially relevant because it helps convey just how much the captain doesn't understand about his surroundings. He's a real fish out of water, if we may.
Quote #9
[For] there was no sign of human habitation as far as the eye could reach. (1.1).
The captain can look all he wants, but he ain't going to find any signs of human life. Nope, it's nothing but nature as far as the eye can see. And you know what this means? It means that the captain will have to face his personal problems head-on, because there's nothing to distract him from them, like videos of puppies falling down stairs among other things.