Here is a typed, slightly reworked version of my freewrite for Under the Sea Wind by Rachel Carlson.

The passageI selected is from page 13:  ”As Rynchops followed the killifish in toward the shelter of the marsh he saw the terrapins swimming in the shallow water where the tide was moving swiftly.  The terrapins nibbled at the marsh  grasses and picked off small coiled snails that had crept up the flat blades.  Sometimes they swam down to take the craps off the bottom.  One of the two terrapins passed between two slender uprights like stakes thrust into the sand.  They were the legs of solitary great blue heron who flew every night from his rookery three miles away to fish from the island.

The heron stood motionless, his neck curved back on his shoulders, his bill poised to spear fish as they darted past his legs.  As the terrapin moved out into deeper water she startled a young mullet and sent it racing toward the beach in confusion and panic.  The sharp-eyed heron saw the movement and with a quick dart seized the fish crosswise in his bill.  He tossed it into the air, caught it headfirst, and swallowed it.  It was the first fish other than small fry that he had caught that night.”  This passage is notable because it demonstrates the multitude of entities involved with the idea of a central character.  With the mention of Rynchops the black skimmer, the killifish, the terrapins, crabs and the great blue heron there is an accurate representation of the protagonist in “Book One”:  the sea life.

This passage is notable because it demonstrates the multitude of entities involved with the idea of a central character.  With the mention of Rynchops the black skimmer, the killifish, the terrapins, crabs and the great blue heron there is an accurate representation of the protagonist in “Book One”:  the sea life.

Heron!  (Image taken from allaboutbirds.org)

In Rachel Carson: A Biography, Carson mentions one of her primary goals was “ ”to make the sea and its life as vivid a reality for those who may read the book as it has become for me during the past decade.”  The passage as a whole really supports this goal.  Caron’s detailed delineation of the sea life really shines through.

The second paragraph is a wonderful example of what ties all three of the protagonists together.  The description of the heron capturing the young mullet and the terrapins feeding on the crabs presents the connection to the theme of survival, which is the unifying theme of the book overall.