What kind of trick was that? Whatever were you doing, Grace? Have you gone mad?
-- William Reichmann (Prologue, pg. 4 paragraph 1)

Importance: In the prologue, Grace stands out in the rain to drink from it. Reichmann and the other lawyers think that Grace is mad, but she is not. Grace’s opening of her mouth for rainwater is a reenactment of an event experienced on Lifeboat 14, where rainwater became lifesaving for the people onboard. It demonstrates how something done for survival in the wild of the ocean could be considered insanity on land in a civilized place.

Mr. Hoffman was the first to mention what we all were thinking: the boat had not been designed for so many.
-- Grace (Part I, Day Two, pg. 25 paragraph 2)

Importance: Immediately upon entering the water, Lifeboat 14 barely remains above the water. This is important for two reasons. First, the boat’s size has been diminished to save money, though the plaque denoting capacity has never been changed. Second, the...