Summary

Rass Island, Chapters 1 & 2

In the introduction, “Rass Island,” Louise Bradshaw creates a strong image of her hometown. Rass is a fisherman’s island, full of crab shacks, crabbing boats, a single church, and a general store. Although Louise says that she loves the island more than anything, she laments, “it is a pure sorrow to me that, once my mother leaves, there will be no one left with the name of Bradshaw” (Page 4). Louise has one sister, Caroline, and it’s clear to Louise that neither of them could stay.

Chapter 1 opens in the summer of 1941. Louise spends every weekend crab fishing with her neighbor, an outcast like Louise, McCall Purnell. Call, as Louise calls him, is fat, near-sighted, and completely lacking a sense of humor, which is why the island boys often dismiss him. From the beginning of the chapter, it...