Survivor Type

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1982

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Symbols & Motifs

The Pulsar Watch

Content Warning: This section of the guide makes reference to shipwreck, accidental injury and death, violence, self-amputation, self-harm, autocannibalism, hunting, the visualization of torture, and psychological distress.

Besides the clothes on his back, Pine’s Pulsar watch is the only object that he has from his life. It represents his connection with the civilization he left behind, the ability to function by the rules of society, and the chance of being rescued.

While his watch is still functioning, Pine uses it to record the time of his various activities, even though he is in complete isolation and does not need to rely on time to coordinate himself with others. He measures the duration of his heroin-induced sleep and an amputation procedure. The timing of the daily occurrences does not have any practical use, but is rather a symbolic gesture to maintain a connection with the society he hopes to reintegrate into. This link represents a hope of being rescued and escaping his current condition. However, during an unsuccessful hunt for a seagull, he accidentally breaks the watch against a rock. The shattering of the watch is symbolic of the island’s harsh condition finally overwhelming the last gleam of civilization left in Pine. Very soon after the watch is broken, Pine elects to amputate and eat his second foot, his first act of non-medical self-harm. The loss of the watch also impacts on the structure of his narrative, as Pine loses track of time and the calendar, as the dates of his entries are no longer accurate and are often followed with a question mark. The inability to accurately tell the date represents the loss of the connection with the rest of the world and, consequently, a loss of hope of a rescue.

Seagulls

Besides his own flesh, the seagulls are the main source of sustenance for Pine on the deserted island, and he attempts to hunt them multiple times throughout the story. He rejoices when he is able to capture a bird: “I got my other hand on its miserable neck and broke it. The sound gave me great satisfaction. Lunch is served, you know?” (402). Pine’s sadistic relish in hunting and killing is bestial and undermines his emphasis on the superiority of his own humanity, especially his mental superiority. His excessive hatred for the birds mirrors his repeated use of dismissive animal imagery for dead or dying humans (“monkeys,” “sheep”): the story shows that he sees animals as inferior and associated with death, and with food. Pine’s autocannibalism subverts the self-superiority of this association, as he comes to view his own flesh as food. The gulls’ ability to feed, fly, and swim juxtaposes Pine’s situation, especially as his self-mutilation exacerbates his inability to negotiate the island environment. His acts of amputation make it increasingly difficult for him to catch the seagulls and his hatred for them deepens. He describes his wish to strangle and torture them. His fury is partly rooted in his inability to accept that a marine bird can thrive while he is trapped and dying. This is also part of Pine’s consistent habit of angrily blaming others for his own situation or choices and of seeking to distance himself from connection and empathy. Rather than being a focus of comfort and company, or a conventional symbol of hope and natural survival, the gulls of Pine’s narrative are symbolic of his alienation.

Autocannibalism

Autocannibalism is one of the story’s darkest symbols. It represents the deepest extent of Pine’s self-hatred and his willingness to transgress against moral and social norms. As an act of physical self-destruction justified as self-preservation, the autocannibalism is a symbol of the vicious cycle of Pine’s approach to life, as revealed in his flashbacks. As such, the autocannibalism is a deeper symbol than the self-mutilation that it entails. Emotionally and psychologically, Pine’s drive through life has been to prioritize his own “survival” and his narrow idea of success over the welfare of others. The reader can perceive, as Pine cannot, that his behavior has also ruined his own welfare and his chances of happiness in life. He has proverbially been his “own worst enemy.” In introducing the element of autocannibalism, King extends the exposure of Pine’s destructive psychological self-perpetuation into a physical manifestation. The absurdity of Pine’s apparent justification and belief that he can keep himself alive by eating himself reveals the more mundane absurdity of Pine’s assertions about his previous life choices and priorities.