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The Survivors


Even the deepest secrets rise to the surface in this thrilling mystery from New ...
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Sean paid a social price for his non-conformity. How was he ostracized and what effect do you think this had on the person he became?

Created: 01/28/21

Replies: 9

Posted Jan. 28, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
davinamw

Join Date: 10/15/10

Posts: 3442

Sean paid a social price for his non-conformity. How was he ostracized and what effect do you think this had on the person he became?

Sean had tried to talk his friends out of writing their names in the rock, "with predictable results." Sean paid a social price for his non-conformity. What were some of the ways Sean was different from Kieran and Ash growing up? How was he ostracized and what effect do you think this had on the person he became?


Posted Jan. 28, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
ScribblingScribe

Join Date: 02/29/16

Posts: 189

RE: Sean paid a social price for his non-conformity. How was he ostracized and what effect do you think this had on the person he became?

Sean was always on the outside, the weakest link in the group. He had no agency and couldn't talk them out of anything, including carving their names into the rocks. He so desperately wanted to be accepted, especially by Olivia, but by everyone. He was more restrained and serious to begin with, especially compared to Ash and Kieran. He appeared, which had to play into his desperate acts. He would do anything to preserve what little social status he had. He could not risk losing any of that based on a single mistake.


Posted Feb. 02, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
susiej

Join Date: 10/15/14

Posts: 363

RE: Sean paid a social price for his non-conformity. How was he ostracized and what effect do you think this had on the person he became?

The price Sean paid for his opinion and action was isolation and loneliness. He felt strongly about the land and the sea, dealt with it reverently and felt it needed protection. (I wondered if was Harper sharing her feelings with her reader. Possibly.) Her character, Sean, became somewhat separated from his peers and even his family because of his rigid beliefs. Ultimately, in two separate instances ten years or so apart, he paid the ultimate price with his own life. Lonely, he took Gabby, younger, more vulnerable than Olivia, to the caves, and he left without her to save his own reputation. This then led to the second situation when he needed to prevent Bronte from exposing his years-ago action. Fearful of being judged by those he valued most, "Everyone will know, won't they?", and unable to live with what he had done, "I know.", he chose to follow "the rush of the water from daylight in the darkness."


Posted Feb. 03, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
acstrine

Join Date: 02/06/17

Posts: 438

RE: Sean paid a social price for his non-conformity. How was he ostracized and what effect do you think this had on the person he became?

I'm not entirely sure that I would describe Sean as ostracized. Three is a weird number for a friend group. The dynamics change often in a threesome, and sometimes it feels a lot like two against one. Sean went to the same parties, worked with his brother just like Kieran did, and hung out on the beach and drank beer with the guys. I don't think the teasing he received from Ash and Kieran happened because they didn't feel the same way about him- -Ash and Sean became roommates after all. He was the different one in the group, therefore, and an easier target for being picked on. If we follow the "boys will be boys" mentality, teasing is something they do to one another. (How many times have I heard that a boy's teasing means he likes you?) I do think that Sean was much more sensitive about what his friends thought of him than they realized. (Kieran even seemed surprised to learn that what he and Ash said to/about Sean meant as much as it did,) He didn't internalize their comments as kidding around, but he was never able to tell them that because--well, is it odd for guys to talk about their real feelings??? We learned this as we heard his thoughts while in the cave with Gabby.


Posted Feb. 03, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
judithc

Join Date: 02/28/20

Posts: 31

RE: Sean paid a social price for his non-conformity. How was he ostracized and what effect do you think this had on the person he became?

Sean was different than the other boys. More timid. Gabby was the same way. On that fateful day their emotions collided. Both misunderstood what the other wanted. Sean’s actions on that day caused him to further isolate himself from the group. Guilt is a terrible thing to live with and he absolutely did not want to face the town’s judgement. He was the one that didn’t pull away from Kieran after the storm and 10 years later tried to sway the town’s guilty accusations away from Liam.


Posted Feb. 03, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
linz

Join Date: 08/12/15

Posts: 167

RE: Sean paid a social price for his non-conformity. How was he ostracized and what effect do you think this had on the person he became?

Sean was the outsider in a group of three. He had strong feelings about the land and sea, but felt like the others did not understand and appreciate it. he didn't pull away from Kieran after the storm because he knew the truth. That didn't make him a better person.


Posted Feb. 05, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
elisabethc

Join Date: 07/16/19

Posts: 42

RE: Sean paid a social price for his non-conformity. How was he ostracized and what effect do you think this had on the person he became?

I think SusieJ's observation that Sean's feelings about the land and the sea could be Harper sharing her own feelings with the reader is interesting, especially because Sean is, in the end, the character who comes across as the least likable or deserving of sympathy.

I also agree with others that Sean misunderstood the intentions of others, and think that this puts his feelings into a larger and important context: The other boys in the story were excused for their more toxic behavior, which was seen as normal, and Sean's behavior stems in a different way from how he absorbed and interacted with various social norms and expectations - how he took small rejections as a slight, for example. This is the flipside of the behavior from the other boys that was more visible throughout the book.


Posted Feb. 10, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
beckyk

Join Date: 02/13/19

Posts: 21

RE: Sean paid a social price for his non-conformity. How was he ostracized and what effect do you think this had on the person he became?

As a teen, Sean was the most sensitive of those in his peer group, the one most uncomfortable joining their "bad boy" behavior -- and yet he so desperately wanted to fit in and be considered one of them. He was bullied by Kieran and Ash, plain and simple, and could obviously not bear to face the possibility of further humiliation that the incident with Gabby would surely have provoked. His loneliness as a teen turned out to be nothing compared to the loneliness that enveloped his adult life as a result of his actions. After his part in the tragic events that transpired, Sean could not risk becoming or remaining too close to those who might learn the truth. He buried himself in his work, under the guise of honoring his brother and carrying on the business his brother had started. The need to keep his secret was a permanent barrier against any hope for future happiness and/or sharing his life with someone.


Posted Feb. 10, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
lbellg

Join Date: 02/23/14

Posts: 46

RE: Sean paid a social price for his non-conformity. How was he ostracized and what effect do you think this had on the person he became?

It seems Sean is projecting an affect outward that reflects how he feels about himself and his involvement in the tragedy. When that persona is confirmed by reactions (or lack their of), it affirms his self disdain. He is punishing himself and needs those around him to validate he's right to feel so bad


Posted Feb. 26, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
taking.mytime's Gravatar
taking.mytime

Join Date: 03/29/16

Posts: 364

RE: Sean paid a social price for his non...

Sean was the outlier. This had to take a toll on his self confidence. He just wanted to fit in with the group and never seemed to - even when he went against his own judgement. The fact that he also lost his brother had to weigh on him - it is a terrible burden to carry. He wanted to be seen as a good guy, he just never seemed to make the grade and he was probably harder on himself than anyone else ever thought to be. Sean's self perception was distorted.


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