About Things That Happened & How I Felt

The first night on the boat was crucial. I was stuck holding for my life at the edge of the lifeboat. The zebra was just laying there in pain. He had a broken leg. I wasn't sure of where Richard Parker was. Did he fall off the boat and drown? Did he swim away? Did he find another floating device for survival? There were too many questions that I needed answers to. Later, I realized why the sailors threw me overboard onto the lifeboat. There was a hyena on here. They wanted me to get rid of it. Did they really expect a fourteen year old boy to get rid of a man-eating hyena? Ha-ha. Well, the hyena didn't attack me, it kept to its own business. I suffered through watching the gruesome death of the zebra. I would rather not go through the gory details. Little did I know, Richard Parker was hiding underneath the tarpaulin. For some reason, my nerves relaxed when I realized Richard Parker was present. Maybe it was because I knew that they hyena wouldn't attack me with a Bengal tiger on board. I'm not quite sure. Later on, we had an unexpected guest join our crew. Orange Juice, an Oran-utan from Pondicherry. It was quite funny, actually. She came floating on an island of bananas! One zebra, one hyena, one tiger, and one human boy all on the same boat. Will I survive?

What I Caught & Didn't Catch

It's been quite awhile since the wrecking of the ship. I found rations of food in a trunk beneath the tarpaulin. There were one hundred twenty four tin cans of fresh water, thirty one cartons of emergency rations, and many survival supplies. I started to run low on my rations, and I needed to feed Richard Parker somehow. I pulled out the survival guide from the trunk and examined it cautiously. I knew I had to start fishing, very soon. Richard Parker would be finishing up the animal carcasses quickly here. Some days, I would catch very little. Other days I would catch flying fish, dorados, and even sharks! Dorados are always a fun catch. When they die, they turn multiple colors. I have also caught turtles. Although it may sound completely unappetizing, turtle blood is what I drank when I started to become low on water. Turtles are very tricky to catch. It takes all the strength your body has to get them on board. In the manual, it said to slice the turtle's throat to get their blood and to kill them. This is a very difficult task because turtles can hide inside of their shell. When you cut open the turtle's throat, you must drink the blood quickly because it will solidify. Sharks are another tough catch. Their sandpaper-like skin is rough on the hands. Sharks are troopers, too. They will not give up. I threw Richard Parker a mako shark that I had caught. It took Richard Parker's paw with its mouth and would not release. It caught Richard Parker off guard, but his paw healed up in no time.

Weather

The sky was dark, and the wind was stirring. The waves started rising. My raft was taking a good beating. I put two anchors overboard, each on separate sides to help stable the boat. A large wave indulged the boat, and it was swamped with seawater. Richard Parker was not happy with this. In my mind, we were going to die. How were we going to stay alive in a sea storm? Our lifeboat is puny compared to the Pacific Ocean. The waves were rocking the lifeboat so hard, it almost threw me overboard. I was holding onto the boat for my life. The waves were outrageous. It would be a miracle to survive this. I rolled the tarpaulin out across the boat and hooked it to each end and took cover. The storm lasted all day and unto the night. My body was badly bruised and severely cut by the turtle shells and other debris that were on the boat. Sometime during that night, the storm stopped. I came out from underneath the tarpaulin and saw that my raft was gone. The only things left of it were a life jacket and two oars. The tarpaulin was in bad shape, and the majority of our food went overboard. It was then that I realized the tarpaulin wasn't my biggest concern. I lost something big. Something that could cost me my life. I had only one whistle left.

Problems and Solutions

Death was standing right before my eyes. How in the world was I going to survive with a Bengal tiger on board with me? How would I defend myself if he attacks? I needed answers to these questions Since I discovered a trunk under the tarpaulin full of helpful survival tools, the best idea was to try to think of any possible way I could use the items to defend myself against Richard Parker. Some of the items that were very useful to me in the trunk were oars, life jackets, and a life buoy. You're probably pondering on how such items could be used to help me, aren't you? They float. I can make a floatation device outside of the lifeboat to distance myself from Richard Parker when the time is needed. I put the oars through the life jackets and securely tied them with a rope that was lifelessly laying in the trunk. After putting a lot of hard work into my raft, it finally came through. It wasn't the best raft a castaway could ask for, but it was the best that I could ask for.

My clothes disintegrated, which led to my bare skin taking in the sun all day long. I had no shade. The trunk did not have sunscreen, or any extra clothing. Richard Parker lounged underneath the shaded tarpaulin during the gruesome hot hours of the day. An idea had hit me with a thunderous "boom". Turtle Shells! I could use turtle shells to shelter myself! I gathered up all the turtle carcasses around the boat and made myself shelter by stacking them in a circular form. Turtle shells didn't only help me with shade, but they were useful by acting as bowls and knives!

Richard Parker

Richard Parker is on the boat. A man-eating carnivore is sharing a lifeboat with me in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It could be a matter of seconds or a matter of days before he attacks me. Am I able to keep myself alive? I knew I would have to find a way to keep Richard Parker fed, hydrated, and alive. If Richard Parker dies, I will be alone. Am I really able to survive this? Am I able to defend myself from a Bengal tiger and survive the death traps of the Pacific? If I can trick Richard Parker into thinking I am alpha-male, I may not die. Yes, this is what I must do. I recall learning of how a lion tamer during a show takes control of the beast in the ring. First, he must enter the ring before the tiger. Then show that it is his territory, and no one elses'. He will have a whip, to frighten the beast. Having the whip can be used to be associated with pain. The tamer will also have a treat with him, such as a snack, to reward the beast for doing something good. Most importantly, the tamer must not lose his dominance! The second the beast feels he is in higher power than the tamer, the tamer is doomed. He could be shred to pieces. I must treat the lifeboat as a circus ring. I must keep Richard Parker fed, pleased, and I cannot lose my dominance. I search the trunk under the tarpaulin for any sort of contraption to use as a whip. I found a handful of whistles. The outcome of my life is in the power of these whistles.