Summer Reading Competition Winners 2024

Scarlet Jeffers

Shutter Island holds Teddy in his delusions. On the island, Teddy can remain in character, posing as a marshal trying to help. Going to the ocean represents the consequences of his actions. The island keeps him in his head so he doesn't have to face the guilt he holds. If he leaves, he becomes a murderer, and his entire reality comes crashing down. To him, the ocean becomes a path to sorrow, guilt, and pain. Unable to deal with his guilt, Teddy chooses to step away from the sea so he doesn’t have to recognize any possibility other than his own false reality. The possibility that Teddy’s life is not what he thinks it is was symbolized by the ocean. Lighthouses show people from the ocean that the land is there. It showed Teddy his delusions.