is230-809-2017 discussion

Radeha, Emily, Henry, Asrar, Estiven

In the first few chapter we read, we know that Sham is a doctor's apprentice that does not know much. They hunt these giant mole like creatures for their meat and fur. They eventually find this abandon ship were Sham is almost killed by a giant naked mole rat and another guy almost lost his legs. [Sham also found a day bat]

I can infer that someone is going to die because that guy almost got killed and with creates that huge, not all of the crew members will survive. Also as Henry said in the discussion, Humans might end up being the villains and all those creatures are just trying to protect themselves from being hunted down and killed.

Thanks Estiven, it's not like I was going to use that *said sarcastically

Based on the first few chapters, I can relate to the text of Ship Breakers, as not only has Asrar state about salvage, but also how family of the protagonist does not play a large role. Nailer's father and mother, presumably have died, and Sham's father has died, too. We can presume that the mother of Sham is dead, also, considering how he lives on a hunting train.

Moreover, although Sham does not want to be a doctor, he does seem to want to be a salvager of not items, but also people. He kind of hints how he does want to play a larger role on the ship. I do not have much to say only because I believe that all the characters, including Sham are not fully rounded, yet, and is confusing due to the abundance of characters.

Not only do I want the characters more rounded, I want to see if Sham can't shake the sense that there is more to life than the endless rails of the railsea, as most of the people on the Rails do not come to this level of realization. Sham, however, partially does already.

Adding on to what Emily said about the prologue based on what we have read so far, the blood is of the giant Yellow Moldywarp for which the captain seeks. that would explain the blood (because they killed the beast) and it would explain the cheering (because they killed the beast) and the "child" could be Sham, and the reason he looks so lost could be because he just took part in killing a rare Moldywarp and is awed and shocked that that just happened.

Additionally, before he had been attacked by the Giant Naked Mole Rats, something was mentioned about Sham being afraid to touch the dirt because there were rumors that it was poisonous, this leads me to think that in this dystopian society, most people live possibly in the sky, or in places that are fully stone and concrete. this could be because of fear of these giant beasts, or simply because they had expanded upwards.

I would like to know more about the Railsea because according to the book, the Railsea is like a zone (some other zones are the Upper and Lower Skies). Yet at the same time the Railsea seems to be an endless expanse of just railways, but if the giant beasts break the surface wouldn't they just destroy the Railsea?

The book is very descriptive about Sham's surroundings and the events that occur on a daily basis. It seems as though Sham is unwanted and being the doctor apprentice is the only position where he can deceive himself as an employee on the train serving some sort of importance. According to the book, while Sham was freezing off without proper clothing, a peer younger and less experienced in the train than he seems like a valuable worker and can operate on hunting moles, therefore has been given appropriate clothing wear.

I still have a question about the conflict and what is going to be centered around the book. The story does not yet reveal the building climax, where it shows the plot outlined in the book. In addition, I am curious after the attack on the wrecked ship, what differences will it make regarding the perspectives on the entire profession in the book, hunting for moles?

I agree with Emily that the image on the front cover is the flatograph of the single rail. the fact that it is on the front cover symbolizes that it is important, additionally, Sham seems drawn to it. I predict that Sham will find his way to the single rail, and like in most dystopian novels, it will change his view of the world. after that i predict that he will go on to learn more about the man whose train they had found the flatographs on, and what the single rail is and what's beyond it.

I also don't understand why Captain Naphi wont just go to the rail. i understand that she wants to find the ivory colored moldywarpe, but if she hasn't found it yet, there's a good chance it'll be a good while until she does. I also don't understand why captains have a certain animal they're after. Even the other captain whom which Captain Naphi had conversed, had a specific beast he was after.

**with** after "conversed" in the last sentence

I'm just making an inference here but maybe going after the ivory color moldywarper is just an excuse. Maybe there is a different reason for the captain to refuse going to that rail. Maybe she tried to go to that rail in the past but she failed, maybe that's where she met the moldywarpe and instead of actually trying to find it, maybe she is just trying to protect people from going there and committing the same mistake she did.

As for Sham, he looks very determined to convince the captain to go there. Im still confused on that part, why exactly does Sham want to go to that rail so badly? Did he get some sort of connection to the people in the pictures? Did he know someone from those pictures? or is he just curious about it?

Why is the captain so focused on catching the ivory colored moldy warps? Considering that she is the captain, she should have a lot of experience dealing with things not working out and driven into looking at the right direction. The captain, as Estiven said probably has another excuse to get to the moldywarpe.

Sham seems to have his heart set on another direction considering that he is not really into the doctor apprentice things, and with the amount of cash he has or materials he finds, he will lean on spending it for his entertainment. I predict that Sham will drive to another destination, not dealt with the Captain's desires because he seems to have an ambitious attitude, but the feeling of knowing when to give up.

Edited** My last one was bad.

In response to Radeha's question of the captain, she is focused on catching the ivory colored moldywarpes, as it seems that one of them took off her leg, which is why she had prostetic legs. Sham is actually rather easily manipulated, due to his 'young' age which is why he became drunk at one part of the plot.

Maybe the Captain is reluctant to go to the island of Manifiki ( I think that's how you spell it ) because she is afraid of fighting the monsters, in a way. She wants vengeance on one specific moldywarpe, rather than viewing the fact the island basically is the heart to most of the creatures. She also most likely fears Sham's ambition, as when she saw Sham with creatures in a camera, she was calm, yet had an urgent voice for Sham to keep out of the nonsense.

I agree with you Henry, maybe the captain is afraid of whatever is in Manifiki and she wants to avoid getting her crew killed. Either this or maybe she really wants to kill that moldywarpe. Maybe that moldywarpe took more than just her hand. Maybe it killed someone dear to her and she wants revenge and her revenge is clouding her mind which makes he only think about killing it.

To add on, Sham wants to go to Manifiki because maybe he really wants to see wants beyond that single rail. That and he wants to find out who are those people in those pictures. Also i wonder, does Sham have a family? Because if he does not, maybe something happend to his family that involve that place which is why he wants to desperately go there.

Adding on to what Emily said, maybe some revealing of Sham's past will explain why he wants to go to Manifiki. Perhaps it is because, from what I understood, his mother was some adventurer, so he thinks it has some correlation to her. Either that or sham is just really really curious. Hopefully curiosity won't kill this cat(sham).

Along with Emily I wasn't able to focus much today and so I didn't understand much of what I read.

In accordance with Estiven's question about Sham's parents, we are told how Sham's father was in a different railway, while the mother was traveling. Up to the date in the book, they are apparently missing, and it is most likely that Sham's father had died, considering of the dangers on the railways, due to all the creatures involved. Does this show anything, really? No, the only importance it conveys is that Sham's parents either did not have enough care for him, in which they were distant, or had went on 'vacation' as Sham was studying medicinal practice, and they both were involved in coincidental accidents.

Moreover, I disagree with the statement in which Sham is curious, as he is more abstract, in which he fights for in what he believes; in this case, making a difference through medicine, or wanting an actual, important role on the railsea, or conveying how there is more out in the world other than the railways.

There is a of discussion on who and where is Sham's parents, but the real question is, what was the author's purpose for leaving out Sham's origins? Is this a gradual development of the character or the plot? Finding out the origins of where Sham came from, would this help contribute to the development of the society? These are critical questions that are racing through my mind as I read everyone's post.

The railway being infinite, it serves as a symbolism of the embedded narration. Meaning, that the railway's myth gives a sense to the mystery of everyone else's conflict. In addition, the railway serves as the base and motivation to why Sham feels the way he do and his interactions with the captain is weak.

I think that the fact that sham doesn't have either of his parents is what allows this story to continue. Perhaps if he had parents he wouldn't have even become a doctor's assistant on a moletrain, and wouldn't even know about the arch of salvage. The idea of no parents seems to advance the story as far as how adventurous Sham is, and as far as in general Sham's personality is. Therefore I believe that Sham's parents greatly influence the story by not being there, but they will not come into the story.

I feel that Captain Naphi is very focused on her philosophy, but possibly for the wrong reason. The Captain may know more but she isn't revealing any of it to Sham. The only reason she seems to even be in Manihiki is because of the tracking salvage. I predict that some dirt about Captain Naphi will be uncovered with the continuation of this story.

What we read on Friday was very informative and provided a lot of insight on what is possibly going to happen in the upcoming pages of the story. In what we read, Sham meets Caldera and Caldero Shroake, the children in the picture that Sham had found. According to them the Railsea, was not created by the Gods like everyone believed, but rather by competing railway companies which kept just putting down rails. They also said that creatures like Moldywarpes and Giant Mole Rats were created by the chemicals released into the earth with all the rails being built.

This information arouses questions and provides insight on what may happen next. I predict that Sham will go with the Shroakes to finish what their parents started, and he will find the single rail which will lead to something nobody has ever discovered and his whole will be turned upside down. A question I have after reading on Friday is : How far in the future is this story placed?

As previous comments stated, the creatures in the story are brilliant. Not only that, but Daybe is represented as as savior for Sham to run away from his problems. Although this may seem like the worst scenario, finding that learning things the hard way is the best way to go, Sham does not have all the answers yet to the Shroakes family. He, by escaping the grasp of enemies relenquishes the effort into finding the answers and this is the hard way to go. He loosens the grip of the secrets Caldera and Dero's parents found and ventured through. Moreover, Caldera and Dero seem to not trust Sham but the idea of the pictures found on the wrecks train means that they are willing to cooperate in the effort Los of finishing what their parent's have started.

The Shroakes children seem to think the railway is not infinite and there is a way to conquer it. There is a deeper discovery incorporated in the railways, although Sham believes there are not. This pessimistic and optimistic point of views differentiate the solutions and balance out an unbiased concept of what could of happened to Caldera and Dero's parent. The pessimistic side views the railway as a typical pathway, emphasizing that their parents are dead, experienced an accident and their Dad Byro is deliberately planned to place them under his wing. There is a reason that Dad Byro easily forgets memories and as the pages in the book turn, it could be revealed why. Contrarily, the optimistic side knows that mystery awaits on the railway and find out why the children's parents are significant whispers in the city as if themselves were secret...

Adding on to your ideas Radeha, caldero and caldera are a massive secret to the place they are in. In the part that we read, 2 strange people wanted to kidnap Sham just because he came from the Shroakes house. Also i wonder why they Shroakes kids know that someone is spying on them but they dont do anything? When Shame mentions this to the kids, Dero just brushes it off like its nothing. I have a feeling that the kids are hiding a bigger secret that not even Sham knows about which is why the city is so worried about the Shroakes.

Also to add on to the previous conversation, I agree with Radeha that the creatures are amazing especially Daybe since that bat aided Sham from those muggers like a boss. It was hilarious imagining almost grown men running away from a tiny bat.

In response to Daybe, people fear him, due to him being a creature that they have not approved yet, such as a moldywarpe, and they have personal experiences with certain creatures and don't want to take their chances.

The purpose that Caldera and Caldero have in the text is to both convey the railways, as they serve to fill what their parents wanted to fulfill: to find the origin of the railways, and to depict development in Sham's character. Basically, what I mean by this is that Dero and Caldera are making Sham come to the realization that there is much more history about everything, including the Railways, which would change him to understanding that there is more to life than the supposed infinite railways.

The main question is whether or not Sham will continue to follow Caldera and Caldero, as there are many stereotypes involved, lack of some trust, and big changes, along with his work with Captain Naphi.

Adding on to what Emily said about the author's techniques, I realize that the switching between characters and what is happening to them is how the author builds up this "what's gonna happen next?" Due to the switching the author is constantly making cliffhangers. while you read one story-line the other one is in the back of your mind, and then when you get back to the other story-line the latter is at the back of your mind.

Also adding on to what Emily said about him worrying about Caldera and Caldero, I think it is because he feels responsible for knowing about their early departure. He ruined all their fake rumors, and realizes they could be in serious danger because of his slip up.

Besides the cliffhangers throughout the text, and Sham, Caldera, and Caldero, I found that the text based on the crew of the Medes was crucial to understanding what the theme is shown throughout the text; that we manipulate others to get as if a higher hierarchy, in a way to benefit ourselves. This is shown when Captain Naphi was revealed to never actually had her body parts taken away by Mocker-Jack, the moldywarpe that she had 'dedicated' her philosophy to. Rather, she had as if faked her injuries in attempt to gain a higher status as a leader, and her supporters, in this case are her crew-members will actually have more respect to Naphi. It was ironic how when Captain Naphi assumed that she had found Mocker-Jack, which turned out to be a hyprid, hydra moldywarpe, she did not fulfill her quest to kill 'Mocker-Jack,' in which she had previously stated many times, and had commanded her crew members to do the work of killing the hydra moldywarpe. This raises questions of Naphi's leadership, along with her past, as almost everything we were told about Naphi is now just full of deceit.

Likewise, the Pirate Captain of Robalson, tried to manipulate the inspector of his train near Manihiki, in order to basically keep Sham. However, in light of recent rumours about Sham, the inspector also wants Sham in order to find and eventually kill the last of the Shroakes: Caldera and Caldero. As it was stated how the pirate captain, Elfrish, had killed Caldera and Caldero's parents, and how Caldera and Caldero are continuiusly venturing to accomplish the goal that their parents had previously tried to accomplish, this conveys how Elfrish most likely tried to gain status by being the 'angel' of the railroads, and making sure that nobody is understanding too much, as if having a relation to Fahrenheit 451, as no one can understand too much, those who read had everything burned, and eventually was considered as the only way to maintain stability in their so called "great societies."

I agree with you guys and also after what we read today, i can infer that captain Naphi is crazy. She is hunting mocker jack for no good reason. It would be understandable that she is hunting him for taking her arm but now we know that she was faking it and had her left arm this whole time. In other words, she got 2 members of her crew killed and the rest were put in massive danger for her pointless philosophy. And like we discussed in class, maybe the real reason she did that was to fit in but it still does not excuse for the getting members of her crew killed and not feeling anything about it.

Also, im still confused about the angels. They kept giving the reader different ideas of what the angels were and we dont know whether they are a machine, a creature, or an actual angel. Maybe for all we know the angel does not exist and they are just imagining things

As we are nearing to the end of the book, I still cannot shake the feeling of what is next in Sham's journey? The entire purpose of the trip for both the Medes train, crew, and Sham was to seek out the railway and its belief on being infinite. To add to that, captain Naphi of the Medes train was desperate to catch the ivory colored mole, named Mocker Jack that apparently took her arm. However, further along the book, the captain forged the philosophy of finding the mole that took her arm, because her arm is still there. She seemed authority among the crew members. They did encounter Mocker Jack and in the midst of walking through the rail sea. This is when she starts to show her true colors as a lunatic. She berates the crew, Sham, the Shroakes that the philosophy are them and they must face the mole one way or another, although they did, the difference is to destroy it for good. This keeps me at the of my seat. Now that there are more plot twist to the story that the author deliberately incorporated, this leads me to question the genuine hopes and aspirations as others.

One question still remaining is what are indicated as Angels? What roles do they play in the raises and the story overall? Just as Estiven said, the Angels continuously are described as a machine, an animal or part of heaven that is led from the railway.