Jiya

Jiya is the main character in The Big Wave. He is the son of a fisherman, but his family is swept away and killed when the big wave comes. Jiya and Kino often play together in the ocean. Kino does not understand Jiya's fear of the sea, but his father explains that people fear the sea because it is large and they do not understand it. When a storm hits their island, a big wave obliterates the fishing village on the beach. Though Jiya's father sends him up the hill to Kino's farm, Jiya's family is washed out to sea. Jiya faints when the wave recedes to reveal the empty beach. When Jiya awakes, he is stricken with grief at the loss of his family, but Kino's family offers him a home with them. The Old Gentleman offers Jiya a home also, wanting the best boy in the...