Human civilization is in decline for ecological reasons. Complete summary of paolo bacigalupis ship breaker. Bright sands beach is the main setting of the novel. Ship breaker is a 2010 young adult novel by paolo bacigalupi set in a post apocalyptic future. Ship breaker by paolo bacigalupi, chapters 16 vocabulary. The timelineplot arch of the book ship breaker, by paolo bacigalupi quiz do they nailers final battle with his father ensues aboard the polestar, where he uses his new skill of reading and his understanding of the gear systems from his time aboard the dauntless to trap his father in the engine room and crushes him between the gears. Dec 10, 2012 in ship breaker, paolo bacigalupi describes a destitute world in which there are limited resources.
The life that the author describes for the ship breakers of bright sands beach is similar to that lived by many people today in the coastal regions of several of the worlds poorer countries in south asia, east asia, the arabian peninsula, and the eastern mediterranean. Ship breaker takes place in a highly divisive society. Many wonder if the people of bright sands beach can survive if they live according to principles. May 28, 2014 ship breaker by paolo bacigalupi by yakinikuman on may 28, 2014 nailer is a ship breaking beach rat living on bright sands beach near new orleans, a hundred years or so from now. The novel was a finalist for the andre norton award and the national book award in the young peoples literature category, and claimed the michael l. I just blazed through paolo bacigalupis ship breaker and i really regret having to leave that world. Some were completely whole, as if crazy sea captains had simply decided to steer the kilometerlong ships onto the sand and then walked away. He and his fellow inhabitants of bright sands beach are dirt poor and work in what is essentially indentured servitude. A boy had died after having become lost within the ducts of an old ship. The book ends with nailer meeting nita again on the same beach they met. He works with his light crew, scavenging the skeletons of old oil tankers for copper wire and metal scraps. Ship breaker takes places in a gritty, grim future, where the divide between the rich and the poor is deeper than ever. On board the yacht is more scavenge than nailer has ever seen and he knows this is his chance out of bright sands beach and a life as a ship breaker. It would be difficult to say that i enjoyed this book, but i did find it moving and.
The polar ice caps have melted and new orleans is underwater. The beach that nailer, pina and the rest of their crew and families call home. The novel focuses on teenage nailer, a ship breaker on bright sands beach, located somewhere in the former gulf of mexic. Isbn 9780316056212 plot summary nailer works light crew on bright sands beach collecting copper wire for pay and tries desperately to avoid the wrath of his abusive, addict father. I want to go back along bright sands beach and revisit all those wonderful people i met that. Although life as a scavenger is difficult, it is even harder for people without a crew at bright sands beach.
The characters are multi dimensional and drive the plot. Using the phrase, in this story, loyalty means, discuss the issue of loyalty in ship breaker. Discussion i thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who loves science fiction. What follows is a race to save nita from the clutches of pyce and to grab a chance at a new life away from bright sands beach. Theres crew, theres family though, in nailers case, his amphetamine hopped up, violent, abusive father is someone hed rather avoid, and there are the fates.
May, 2010 life on bright sands beach is brutal and unforgiving, even for young teens like nailer. There are many huge cargo ships scattered across it with people climbing all over it like ants. The harsh realities of this life, from his abusive father, to his hand to mouth. Whether within the microsociety on bright sands beach lucky strike is at the top of the heap, sloth at the bottom or the greater global society, life is divided between the haves a. Ship breaker is a 2010 young adult novel by paolo bacigalupi set in a postapocalyptic future. A young scavenger discovers a severely damaged clipper ship with a beautiful woman inside. But when, by luck or chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, nailer faces the most. In a futuristic americas gulf coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, nailer works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota and hopefully live to see another day. A tarred expanse of sand and puddled seawater, littered with the savaged bodies of other oil tankers and freighters. In ship breaker, paolo bacigalupi pens the future of a fossil fuel dependent world. This study guide consists of approximately 25 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of ship breaker. In some cases, as with chronicles of narnia, disagreements about order necessitate the creation of more than one series. The bright sands beach might be sunny, but the world has become much darker. Jul 31, 2010 what follows is a race to save nita from the clutches of pyce and to grab a chance at a new life away from bright sands beach.
No matter when you are there you can alsways find people doing this. From the height of the tankers deck, bright sands beach stretched into the distance, a tarred expanse of sand and puddled seawater, littered with the savaged bodies of other oil tankers and freighters. Essentially the dystopian conditions that govern society in ship breaker are the result of unregulated capitalism. Ship breaker book bellingham public library bibliocommons. When he discovers a survivor on a grounded ship, he must decide whether to do his job or to rescue her. Apr 26, 2011 i just blazed through paolo bacigalupis ship breaker and i really regret having to leave that world. Enter the name of the series to add the book to it. The residents of bright sands beach work in horrendous conditions because anything else would cut into the big companies profits. New orleans was placed as geographically accurate as my inexperienced hand was able. Most swanks would argue that ship breakers like nailer are. He rescues nita and goes back to where the story started. Nailer is a ship breaking beach rat living on bright sands beach near new orleans, a hundred years or so from now.
Its full of junk a tarred expanse of sand and puddled sea water, littered with the savaged bodies of other oil tankers and freighters 1. It is where the salvage crews live and the salvage companies operate. The novel was a finalist for the andre norton award and the national book award in the. On bright sands beach a small beach where nailer, pima, sadna and richard work and live on in these small makeshift shacks sleeping on the ground most of the time eating roasted pigeon.
In a futuristic world, teenaged nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living, but when he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the ship for its wealth or rescue the girl. Ship breaker book the seattle public library bibliocommons. Because of a shallow coast many ships find themselves getting stuck. The novel focuses on teenage nailer, a ship breaker on bright sands beach, located somewhere in the former gulf of mexico.
Ship breaker overview ship breaker is a young adult novel by paolo bacigalupi, which details the efforts of the teenaged nailer to secure a living for himself by scrapping ships of light metals. Despite the storm, dauntless bypasses the teeth, and the pole star gets hung up on the buildings. The setting in which most of the first story, ship breaker, takes place. Ship breaker book king county library system bibliocommons. A very dirty place full of people who have to constantly work to survive. Nailer and his cohort survive by scrounging among the relics. The poor grow up like nailer, a youth who lives in a little shack on a beach off the gulf coast with his abusive, druggedup father. Nailer is a ship breaker, working with his crew to strip shipwrecked boats for their scrap metal and wires. In a world ravaged by climate change, nailer is a teenage boy who salvages parts from old tankers. Bright sands beach is where nailer, his father, pima, and the others live and work. Most of the story takes place on bright sands beach, where nailer and pima live and work as ship breakers. Nailer and his crew work here taking aparte ships for money. The crew of the yacht is dead, drowned in the shipkiller storm that came through the day before.
Ship breaker book tulsa citycounty library bibliocommons. I proposed that bright sands beach is located in the modernday florida panhandle, which would make pensacola the teeth. The crew of the yacht is dead, drowned in the ship killer storm that came through the day before. Working near what was once new orleans sometime in the future, nailer is a member of the light crew, stripping copper from old oil tankers which were grounded when the world ran out of fossil fuel. An important aspect of ship breaker is the role of a pure freemarket system. Most of the people work as ship breakers, and recieve very little food and pay. He lives on bright sands beach with his cruel alcoholic father, richard lopez. Set initially in a future shanty town in americas gulf coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being dissembled for parts by a rag tag group of workers, we meet nailer, a teenage boy working the light crew, searching for copper wiring to make quota and live another day.
Its full of junka tarred expanse of sand and puddled sea water, littered with the savaged bodies of other oil tankers and freighters 1. Nailer is a teenage ship breaker, small enough to crawl into the dark depths of beached oil tankers and strip them of metals like copper that are shipped out and sold. Environmental studies with ship breaker ups foundation. Ship breaking is hard work and dangerous, but more frightening is the thought of being without work and left at the mercy of his drug addicted, violent father. Discuss the role that religion plays in the lives of the characters. Praised by critics and readers alike, now ship breaker has made him one of the young adult fields brightest stars. Its located on the gulf coast, and is right next to the remains of a drowned city which is nicknamed the teeth. Dec 15, 2010 nailer is a ship breaker on bright sands beach along the gulf coast in a globallywarmed and resourcedepleted future. People who cannot find work ship breaking often resort. Ship breaker thus deals with timeless themes and concepts, such. When a strong storm brings the wreckage of a clipper ship to bright sands beach, nailer. I used material from the novel, class discussion, and a modernday map to compose my map of nailers world. I want to go back along bright sands beach and revisit all those wonderful people i met that are struggling through such hard lives. Mar 23, 2014 in ship breaker, paolo bacigalupi pens the future of a fossil fuel dependent world.
Its not explicitly mentioned, but it feels like the same world from bacigalupis windup girl. To create a series or add a work to it, go to a work page. He comes to rescue a stranded, wealthy girl, and endeavors to bring her to safety. In bright sands beach, residents are desperate to survive. Jul 31, 2017 nailer is a teenage ship breaker, small enough to crawl into the dark depths of beached oil tankers and strip them of metals like copper that are shipped out and sold. Nailer is a ship breaker on bright sands beach along the gulf coast in a globallywarmed and resourcedepleted future. Printz award, the american library associations top honor for young adult. Ship breaker races to a final, satisfying and thrilling conclusion. He lives on bright sands beach, on the remains of the gulf coast, where he and other children work in tightknit crews to strip wrecked oil tankers. He knows that this way of life is coming to an end, soon he will be.
The captain realizes that theyre near bright sands beach, and nailer tells them that they can set a trap for the pole star by navigating the teeth, buildings underwater due to the rising sea levels. As part of a light crew, he crawls into the smallest crevices and duct work of old oil tankers to rip out wiring and screws to sell for scrap. A vocabulary list featuring ship breaker by paolo bacigalupi, chapters 16. Ship breaker by paolo bacigalupi uniformly uninformative. The common knowledge section now includes a series field. Series was designed to cover groups of books generally understood as such see wikipedia. Nailer, the protagonist, works in the light crew, a dangerous job that entails stripping old ships for metals and other resources. In americas gulf coast region, where grounded oil tankers are bein. It is where the salvage crews live and the salvage companies. Nailer, a teenage grunt on a scavenge crew, strips wiring out of oil tankers, beached due to hurricanes and no more oil available. Everyone has a quota to meet, and everyone follows the same cutthroat rules. Ship breaker takes place on the gulf coast in a dystopian future, in the general vicinity of presentday new orleans. Sadna is a character in the book ship breaker by paolo bacigalupi she is pimas mother edit she is the bright sands beach medical officer, so to speak edit she saves richard lopez from the storm edit she saves nailer from being killed by blue eyes edit.
On the gulf coast nearby, humanity has reverted to survival mode and a small economy has grown from the scavenging of washed up oil tankers for bits of copper and other valuables. Carbonbased fuel has all but run out and humans live on the scraps of old technology. But theres a lot less ship breaking and a lot more soul searching in the book. Bacigalupis acclaimed collection, pump six and other stories, and his multipleawardwinning debut novel, the windup girl, established him as one of science fictions boldest new writers. Nailer has worked, as long as he can remember, as a ship breaker on bright sands beach on the gulf coast. The ship sets sail, and while nailer feels alone without tool, the captain takes him to his cabin. Bright sands beach is pummeled by a storm so bad that it erases every trace of human presence on the shore, except for the wrecks of ships which litter the sand. Life on bright sands beach is brutal and unforgiving, even for young teens like nailer. On the beach, crew is everything and nailer knows it better than anyone.
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