Article #316-1 | Gutenberg Articles

Excerpt

Excerpt from The Golden Road, by L. M. Montgomery

She had been away for a week, visiting cousins in Markdale, and she had
come home with a new treasure-trove of stories, most of which she had
heard from the old sailors of Markdale Harbour. She had promised that
morning to tell us of “the most tragic event that had ever been known on
the north shore,” and we now reminded her of her promise.

“Some call it the ‘Yankee Storm,’ and others the ‘American Gale,’” she
began, sitting down by Miss Reade and beaming, because the latter
put her arm around her waist. “It happened nearly forty years ago, in
October of 1851. Old Mr. Coles at the Harbour told me all about it. He
was a young man then and he says he can never forget that dreadful time.
You know in those days hundreds of American fishing schooners used to
come down to the Gulf every summer to fish mackerel. On one beautiful
Saturday night in this October of 1851, more than one hundred of these
vessels could be counted from Markdale Capes. By Monday night more than
seventy of them had been destroyed. Those which had escaped were mostly
those which went into harbour Saturday night, to keep Sunday. Mr. Coles
says the rest stayed outside and fished all day Sunday, same as through
the week, and HE says the storm was a judgment on them for doing it. But
he admits that even some of them got into harbour later on and escaped,
so it’s hard to know what to think. But it is certain that on Sunday
night there came up a sudden and terrible storm--the worst, Mr. Coles
says, that has ever been known on the north shore. It lasted for two
days and scores of vessels were driven ashore and completely wrecked.
The crews of most of the vessels that went ashore on the sand beaches
were saved, but those that struck on the rocks went to pieces and all
hands were lost. For weeks after the storm the north shore was strewn
with the bodies of drowned men. Think of it! Many of them were unknown
and unrecognizable, and they were buried in Markdale graveyard. Mr.
Coles says the schoolmaster who was in Markdale then wrote a poem on the
storm and Mr. Coles recited the first two verses to me.

“‘Here are the fishers’ hillside graves,<br />
  The church beside, the woods around,<br />
  Below, the hollow moaning waves<br />
  Where the poor fishermen were drowned.

Explanation

**Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from The Golden Road by L.M. Montgomery**

Context of the Source

The Golden Road (1913) is the sequel to The Story Girl (1911), both by Lucy Maud Montgomery, the renowned Canadian author best known for Anne of Green Gables. The novels are semi-autobiographical, drawing from Montgomery’s childhood in rural Prince Edward Island (PEI). They follow a group of children—including the narrator, Beverly, and the enchanting Story Girl, Sara Stanley—as they share tales, adventures, and folklore in their close-knit community.

This excerpt is a framed narrative—a story within a story—told by the Story Girl, who has just returned from visiting relatives in Markdale (a fictionalized version of real coastal communities in PEI or Nova Scotia). The tale she recounts is a historical maritime disaster, the "Yankee Storm" or "American Gale" of 1851, which devastated American fishing schooners off the Atlantic coast. Montgomery likely based this on real storms (such as the 1851 "Yankee Gale" that struck Newfoundland and Nova Scotia), blending history with local legend.

Themes in the Excerpt

The Power and Wrath of Nature
- The storm is described as "sudden and terrible", the "worst… ever known on the north shore", emphasizing nature’s indifference to human life.
- The imagery of "hollow moaning waves" and "fishers’ hillside graves" reinforces the inevitability of tragedy when humans challenge natural forces.
- The contrast between the "beautiful Saturday night" and the destruction by Monday highlights nature’s unpredictability.
Divine Judgment vs. Human Folly
- Old Mr. Coles frames the storm as "a judgment" on the fishermen who worked on Sunday, violating the Sabbath.
- However, the narrator notes that "even some of them got into harbour later and escaped", undermining the moral certainty. This ambiguity suggests human attempts to impose meaning on random tragedy.
- The theme reflects Puritanical beliefs common in 19th-century maritime communities, where disasters were often seen as divine punishment.
Mortality and Memorialization
- The aftermath—"weeks after the storm the north shore was strewn with the bodies of drowned men"—is haunting. Many remain "unknown and unrecognizable", buried in mass graves.
- The poem serves as a memorial, preserving the tragedy in collective memory. The graves, church, and woods become symbols of both loss and remembrance.
Cultural Exchange and Storytelling
- The Story Girl acts as a cultural bridge, passing down oral history from old sailors to the children.
- The tale blends fact and legend, showing how communities make sense of trauma through narrative.

Literary Devices & Stylistic Analysis

Framed Narrative
- The story is nested: the children prompt the Story Girl, who recounts Mr. Coles’ tale, which includes a poem. This layering adds authenticity and distance, making the tragedy feel like a legend rather than a direct experience.
Imagery & Sensory Language
- Visual: "more than one hundred vessels" → prosperity before destruction; "strewn with the bodies" → horror of the aftermath.
- Auditory: "hollow moaning waves" → personifies the sea as mournful, almost supernatural.
- Tactile: "went to pieces" (ships), "unrecognizable" (bodies) → emphasizes violence and decay.
Juxtaposition
- Peace vs. Chaos: The "beautiful Saturday night" vs. the storm’s "two days" of terror.
- Salvation vs. Damnation: Vessels that "kept Sunday" (in harbor) survived; those that didn’t were "destroyed".
Symbolism
- The Storm: Represents divine wrath, fate, or nature’s indifference.
- The Graveyard: A physical and metaphorical resting place for the unknown dead, symbolizing collective memory.
- The Poem: Acts as a cultural artifact, ensuring the story endures.
Irony
- The fishermen who disregarded tradition (working on Sunday) suffered, but some who did the same escaped, undermining the moral lesson.
Foreshadowing & Suspense
- The opening line—"the most tragic event"—creates anticipation.
- The gradual reveal (from the calm Saturday to the storm’s aftermath) builds dread.

Significance of the Excerpt

Historical & Cultural Preservation
- Montgomery documents maritime folklore, ensuring oral histories (like the 1851 storm) are not lost.
- The tale reflects real anxieties of coastal communities dependent on the sea’s mercy.
Moral & Philosophical Questions
- Is the storm divine punishment or bad luck? The text leaves this open, inviting readers to ponder fate vs. free will.
- The unknown dead raise questions about identity and memory—how we remember those lost to history.
Storytelling as Community Bonding
- The children’s eager listening shows how stories connect generations and reinforce cultural values.
- The Story Girl’s role as a keeper of tales mirrors Montgomery’s own work in preserving Canadian heritage.
Literary Influence
- The excerpt exemplifies Montgomery’s blend of realism and romanticism—grounded in history but elevated by poetic language.
- The maritime disaster genre (seen in works like The Wreck of the Hesperus) is given a local, intimate treatment.

Close Reading of the Poem

The included two verses from the schoolmaster’s poem serve as a lyrical epitaph for the drowned fishermen:

“Here are the fishers’ hillside graves, The church beside, the woods around, Below, the hollow moaning waves Where the poor fishermen were drowned.”

Structure: The ABAB rhyme scheme gives a sing-song, elegiac quality, fitting for a memorial.
"Hillside graves" / "church beside": The land (graves, church) contrasts with the sea (waves), symbolizing the border between life and death.
"Hollow moaning waves": The sea is personified as grieving, or perhaps mocking, the dead.
Tone: Mournful yet resigned, accepting tragedy as part of maritime life.

Conclusion: Why This Excerpt Matters

This passage is a microcosm of Montgomery’s genius—it weaves history, morality, and poetry into a haunting maritime legend. The storm becomes more than a natural disaster; it’s a cultural touchstone, exploring:

The fragility of human life against nature’s power.
The need for meaning in suffering (divine judgment vs. random chance).
The role of storytelling in preserving memory.

For modern readers, it also serves as a window into 19th-century Atlantic Canadian life, where the sea was both provider and destroyer, and where every storm carried the potential for tragedy—and legend.

Would you like further analysis on any specific aspect, such as the religious undertones or comparisons to other maritime literature?

Questions

Question 1

The narrator’s description of Mr. Coles’ assertion that the storm was “a judgment” on the fishermen who worked on Sunday serves primarily to:

A. expose the tension between moral certitude and the arbitrary nature of survival in the face of natural disaster.
B. illustrate the deep-seated superstitions of 19th-century maritime communities as universally held truths.
C. underscore the narrative’s reliance on religious dogma to explain inexplicable tragedies.
D. contrast the piety of the local fishermen with the recklessness of the American schooners.
E. foreshadow the eventual redemption of those who adhered to Sabbath traditions.

Question 2

The poem’s depiction of the “hollow moaning waves” functions most effectively as a literary device to:

A. personify the sea as a vengeful entity, aligning with Mr. Coles’ interpretation of divine retribution.
B. evoke the collective grief of the community through an auditory metaphor for lamentation.
C. create a dissonance between the serene landscape (graves, church, woods) and the persistent, mournful threat of the sea.
D. emphasize the cyclical nature of maritime life, where death and memory are inextricably linked to the ocean.
E. suggest the supernatural origins of the storm, reinforcing the idea of a cursed fishing expedition.

Question 3

The structural choice to frame the storm narrative through the Story Girl’s retelling of Mr. Coles’ account—rather than presenting it as a direct historical record—primarily serves to:

A. highlight the subjective and contested nature of oral history, where personal bias and communal memory shape the telling.
B. distance the reader from the emotional impact of the tragedy, allowing for a more detached, analytical perspective.
C. emphasize the Story Girl’s role as a cultural archivist, preserving verifiable facts for future generations.
D. critique the unreliability of secondhand accounts, particularly those tinged with moralistic overtones.
E. create a sense of immediacy by collapsing the temporal gap between the event and its retelling.

Question 4

The detail that “even some of [the schooners that fished on Sunday] got into harbour later on and escaped” is most significant in that it:

A. validates Mr. Coles’ claim of divine judgment by proving that repentance was still possible.
B. introduces a redemptive counterpoint to the otherwise unrelenting tragedy of the storm.
C. undermines the moral simplicity of the “judgment” narrative, revealing the storm’s indiscriminate destruction.
D. suggests that the storm’s timing was coincidental rather than providential, as some non-observant vessels survived.
E. implies that the fishermen’s survival was due to superior seamanship rather than divine favor.

Question 5

The passage’s concluding focus on the “unknown and unrecognizable” drowned men buried in Markdale graveyard ultimately serves to:

A. critique the inadequacy of communal memory in preserving individual identities in the face of mass tragedy.
B. reinforce the idea that the storm’s victims were morally culpable, as their anonymity erases their transgressions.
C. evoke the existential weight of unmarked deaths, where the absence of personal narratives forces a confrontation with the arbitrary nature of fate.
D. contrast the permanence of the graveyard with the impermanence of the sailors’ lives, emphasizing the futility of human endeavor.
E. suggest that the true tragedy lies not in the deaths themselves but in the failure of the community to properly mourn the lost.

Solutions and Explanations

1) Correct answer: A

Why A is most correct: The passage explicitly notes that Mr. Coles “admits that even some of [the schooners that fished on Sunday] got into harbour later on and escaped,” which directly complicates his claim of divine judgment. This tension—between a moralistic explanation for the storm and the randomness of who survived—is the core of the passage’s ambiguity. The narrator’s phrasing (“it’s hard to know what to think”) further underscores this conflict, making A the most defensible answer.