Was Larry's accident a "lie"?

[YL_Eytka]

I think it was an accident, the death seemed way to brutal to have been planned, but on a somewhat unrelated note, when Louise said that they needed a big claim, I had thought she had meant a life insurance claim and therefore thought there would b a subplot of either Larry or Louise dying for a life insurance claim (silly I know, I'm not too familiar with boats)

[Ferdinand_Otieno]

I think it was an accident, the death seemed way to brutal to have been planned, but on a somewhat unrelated note, when Louise said that they needed a big claim, I had thought she had meant a life insurance claim and therefore thought there would b a subplot of either Larry or Louise dying for a life insurance claim (silly I know, I'm not too familiar with boats)

interesting viewpoint.

[Ferdinand_Otieno]

I think that's a valid thought. However, this one does feel like an accident. But of course, I see how Larry's character could have us guessing right till the end of the story.

Welcome to the Rebellion.

[Ferdinand_Otieno]

I think it was an accident, the death seemed way to brutal to have been planned, but on a somewhat unrelated note, when Louise said that they needed a big claim, I had thought she had meant a life insurance claim and therefore thought there would b a subplot of either Larry or Louise dying for a life insurance claim (silly I know, I'm not too familiar with boats)

I find it interesting that Larry spent so much time looking through documents to not have found the life insurance policy.

[Ferdinand_Otieno]

Interesting question. I do not think it to be a lie. The way it happened and the timing of it was way too unpredictable for it to be a planned incident. It was definitely not planned.

just before the cable snapped , he had a chance to dive to safety considering his many years- experience.

[Ferdinand_Otieno]

Interesting question. I do not think it to be a lie. The way it happened and the timing of it was way too unpredictable for it to be a planned incident. It was definitely not planned.

I believe he had a chance to dive to safety and ignored it, hoping for a quick death.

[Ferdinand_Otieno]

Larry was caught by a cable that snapped. The waves are described as "erratic." I don't see how Larry could have known that the cable was going to snap and which way the cable was going to fling when it broke so that he would receive the impact of the broken cable??? There are too many unknowns for him to have planned it. I still think it was just an accident.

When I read about the accident, I agreed with you, but after finding out about the insurance policy which he "must" have found (basing on the amount of time he spent going through the documents) and his refusal to tell Louise about it and letting her think he was cheating on her! It started to stink of a conspiracy to commit suicide, it stank to high hell. Considering all of this, wouldn't you agree?

The only variable here is the 'must' which is still just an assumption. It would seem likely that he would have found the document. The author does a superb job of creating that doubt by not affirming that Larry knew anything about the insurance. That leaves the reader guessing - did he or didn't he??

Larry also knew his wife! He knew that once she had made up her mind about something, anything he said or did was not going to change a thing. He could talk until he was blue in the face, and she would never believe that he was not cheating on her. She had lost trust in him. Would this motivate him to commit suicide so she could collect on a CHEATER? Was he going to reward her accusing him of being with another woman?

I think Larry was not that vindictive.

[Ferdinand_Otieno]

I think it was an accident. I don't think you could plan something like that. And if you thought about trying it, you would realize that there were risks to the others by doing so.

Not when Larry could see the cable was about to snap. with his many years of experience,jumping down to safety,like everyone else did, should have been his INSTINCT but not doing this and then finding out there was an insurance policy! stinks to high hell I tells ya.

[Popcorn1]

It's definitely an accident. Even if he knew there's an isurance, he would still find other ways to solve their financial problem. Considering the last conversation between him and Louise, he didn't plan to leave his wife so soon.

[Popcorn1]

It's definitely an accident. Even if he knew there's an isurance, he would still find other ways to solve their financial problem. Considering the last conversation between him and Louise, he didn't plan to leave his wife so soon.

[Ferdinand_Otieno]

It's definitely an accident. Even if he knew there's an isurance, he would still find other ways to solve their financial problem. Considering the last conversation between him and Louise, he didn't plan to leave his wife so soon.

For me, I see a financial crisis before they knew of the Express. I see a discovered insurance policy, one which Larry helped look for but "apparently" never found. I see an experienced captain who did not even attempt to dive for safety when the cable snapped. He could not predict many things, but that a snapped cable is dangerous, that he could have predicted.

[Galesphere]

It's a shame that I believe Larry's accident to be, well, accidental, because playing devil's advocate would be fun and way more interesting. My only question, though, is...should he have died? I was always told by my writing professors that you have to have a DAMN good reason to kill off a major character. If his death was to elicit some sort of response from Louise...well, we know that Louise didn't have much of a response, so what was the point? I guess some could say that this lack of response reveals Louise's unfeeling personality, but I didn't condemn her fully for that, either. Essentially, I think Larry and Louise's characterization could have been stronger and more thought out.

[Ferdinand_Otieno]

It's a shame that I believe Larry's accident to be, well, accidental, because playing devil's advocate would be fun and way more interesting. My only question, though, is...should he have died? I was always told by my writing professors that you have to have a DAMN good reason to kill off a major character. If his death was to elicit some sort of response from Louise...well, we know that Louise didn't have much of a response, so what was the point? I guess some could say that this lack of response reveals Louise's unfeeling personality, but I didn't condemn her fully for that, either. Essentially, I think Larry and Louise's characterization could have been stronger and more thought out.

Inciteful, and i agree with you. When Larry died, I thought Louise would somehow change-feel guilt and remource. I was a little disappointed in their characterization.

[ElizaBeth Adams]

I also believe this was an accident. The book even says that Larry didn't know about the insurance policy. Also, I believe that Larry cared enough about Louise that he would have worked harder to put her mind at ease about her suspicions of his unfaithfulness if he believed he would never see her again.

[Ferdinand_Otieno]

I also believe this was an accident. The book even says that Larry didn't know about the insurance policy. Also, I believe that Larry cared enough about Louise that he would have worked harder to put her mind at ease about her suspicions of his unfaithfulness if he believed he would never see her again.

I find it hard to believe that spent so much time with whatsherface and did not find the policy.