Gun Island

“The legend is filled with secrets and if you don’t know their meaning it’s impossible to understand. […] But some day, when the time is right, someone will understand it and who knows? For them it may open up a world that we cannot see.”

Nilima meets the Muslim caretaker of Manasa Devi’s shrine, who asserts that the secrets of the Gun Merchant’s legend will open themselves up to the right person at the right time. This works as both prediction and foreshadowing, and the Gun Merchant’s story becomes a framing device within the story. Multiple parallels to the Gun Merchant’s legend emerge over the course of the book, and they help different characters to find the respective things that they had been looking for in their lives.

“It was the Inquisitor’s job to stamp out ‘superstition’ and replace it with true religion. It was the Inquisitor also who decided what was ‘natural’ and what was ‘supernatural.’ So to say that you don’t believe in the ‘supernatural’ is a contradiction in terms—because it means that you also don’t believe in the ‘natural.’ Neither can exist without the other.”

Cinta explains to Deen how the understanding of “natural” and “supernatural” came about during the Inquisition, and the relation of these terms to each other. Her assertion that disbelief in one leads to dismissal of the other is in keeping with her worldview. To her, the opposition of “natural” is both “humanmade” and “supernatural,” and the line between the two is blurry. Furthermore, her own personal experiences with the supernatural (for example, hearing and feeling Lucia’s presence long after her daughter’s death) have left her open to the possibility that the “supernatural” is not “unnatural.”

“The Internet is the migrants’ magic carpet; it’s their conveyor belt. It doesn’t matter whether they’re travelling by plane or bus or boat: it’s the Internet that moves the wetware—it’s that simple, Pops.”

Tipu explains how the internet facilitates a large number of things for migrants in South Asian countries, from exposure to the kind of lives they could be living elsewhere, to the systems and means to getting there. The ease with which Tipu is able to help people move across borders using the internet is a testament to the power of technology and how it has impacted The Politics of Travel and Movement in the 21st century.

“‘If a cobra puts something in you,’ said Rafi, ‘you can never be rid of it. That’s what my grandfather used to say.’”

Rafi sucks out the venom from Tipu’s cobra bite but asserts that one can never be completely rid of the venom that a cobra injects. This proves to be true in a mystical way for Tipu, for he begins experiencing visions following the snake bite. He is unable to shake the sense of a darkness closing in, and this premonition propels him to go to Venice and take Rafi with him.

“Piya’s language was carefully neutral—no doubt because she was loath to anthropomorphize the animals that she studied—yet it was clear that her relationship with Rani was strong enough, and durable enough, to qualify as what humans might regard as an old friendship.”

Piya tells Deen about Rani, the Irrawaddy river dolphin she has been studying for years, but she avoids describing the dynamic between her and the dolphin as a friendship. Despite this reticence, her descriptions of their interactions are enough for Deen to see the bond that Pya shares with Rani. Piya is a somewhat paradoxical character, for she refuses to allow any other explanation than a scientific, rational one for different phenomena, even as she clearly witnesses and experiences things that are outside the bounds of such explanations. She is extremely in tune with the natural world even as she denies the probability of a “supernatural” one.

“It was as if some living thing had entered my body, something ancient that had long lain dormant in the mud. […] it was memory itself, except that it was not my own; it was much older than me, some submerged aspect of time that had been brought suddenly to life when I entered that shrine—something fearsome, venomous and overwhelmingly powerful, something that would not allow me to be rid of it.”

Deen begins to feel a strong sense of unease and disturbed sleep after returning from Calcutta (Kolkata); he observes that it feels like something ancient has entered him upon his visit to the shrine. Deen qualifies this presence as something “fearsome” and “venomous,” based on his perspective of the Gun Merchant and Manasa Devi’s story. However, over time he comes to see the story and this presence in a different light, in which the goddess is attempting to stop humanity’s mindless greed from destroying all other living beings. By the end of the book, he feels a sense of gratitude and wonder regarding the Merchant, in sharp opposition to the fear and anxiety that the story initially causes him.

“Being well aware of the complications of flying in these times, I knew exactly how unwise it was for someone of my appearance to draw attention to himself. I always exerted myself to avoid doing so—but now here I was, the cynosure of all eyes.”

Deen accidentally begins playing Urdu music through his Bluetooth speaker while attempting to ask the stewards on board a flight to LA about the wildfires at their destination. This specific passage brings to light the unspoken racism that he must navigate when he travels, due to the color of his skin. This highlights the theme of The Politics of Travel and Movement.

“[A]ll around the earth, ordinary people appear to have sensed the stirring of something momentous. They seemed to have understood that a process had been launched that could lead ultimately to catastrophe: what they didn’t allow for was that the story might take a few hundred years to play out.”

The historian who opens the conference in LA posits that the sense of catastrophe felt by those in the 17th century was instigated by the climate crisis they were experiencing then. In his view, this pattern directly foretold the impending climate-related apocalypse of the 21st century. The historian’s assertion highlights how the past and present are linked in more ways than one can imagine, an idea constantly reiterated by the Gun Merchant’s legend. It also highlights issues related to the environment that Ghosh attempts to touch upon throughout the book, explored through the theme of The Conflict Between Man and Nature.

“This has now become the biggest political issue across Europe, so everyone wants to know about it. Why are the migrants coming, in such dangerous circumstances? What are they fleeing? What are their hopes?”

Gisa explains to Deen why she wants to make a documentary about the refugee crisis in Italy. The questions she poses are central to the book itself, for Ghosh attempts to explore this issue by presenting different aspects of The Politics of Travel and Movement, using the disparate situations and challenges of the primary characters. The Gun Merchant, Deen, Cinta, Rafi, Tipu, and even Piya are all seen traveling throughout the story, although they are motivated by different reasons and in search of different things.

“Hence the urgency of her search for the Merchant: for if he, and others like him, were to disavow her authority, all those unseen boundaries would vanish, and humans—driven, as was the Merchant, by the quest for profit—would recognize no restraint in relation to other living things.”

As Deen walks around the “Ghetto” in Venice and imagines the place through the lens of the Merchant’s story, he slips into the goddess’s perspective. Finally, he sees the symbolism of the story in relation to The Conflict Between Humans and Nature; Manasa Devi is a spokesperson for the natural world, and she is attempting to stop the Merchant’s relentless pursuit of profit that compels him to sacrifice other living beings for his own ends. Parallels are drawn between this and the state of the contemporary world through both the climate crisis, as well as the refugee issue, that are central to the story.

“Can you imagine what it was like? Being in that tree, with the wind howling and the flood raging below, not knowing whether you would be killed by the storm or a snake?”

Lubna describes the terror of being stuck in a snake-infested tree during a storm in her hometown, fighting death on both fronts. Snakes are a recurring symbol in the book, at times coming across as portents, or vicious and vindictive creatures. However, Deen’s shift in perspective about the Merchant’s story allows the reader to see the snake for what it is—an unfortunate and unavoidable retaliatory consequence of humanity’s harmful actions against the natural environment.

“Across Europe the question of immigration is now the single most important issue in politics and this boat—the Blue Boat, as it is being called—could bring it all to a head.”

The Blue Boat, which carries the refugees from Sinai to Sicily, is an important symbol in the book. At once, it speaks to all three central themes: it signals the conclusion of the Parallels Between Myths and Modern Events; it highlights the politics that surround The Politics of Travel and Movement across the world; and it also underscores man’s inherent greed and willingness to exploit other living beings, including other humans, for the sake of profit, as explored in the theme of The Conflict Between Humans and Nature.

“Yes, of course, it was all chance, these unlikely encounters, these improbable intersections between the past and present […] all of this was pure coincidence […] To lose sight of that was to risk becoming untethered from reality; chance was the very foundation of reality, of normalcy. There was absolutely no reason to imagine […] that such an encounter, in such a place, was outside the range of the probable.”

Deen is struck by the coincidences in his interactions with Rafi and Tipu, when Piya tells him that the boys have attempted to travel to Venice together. He tries to convince himself that there is a rational explanation behind these occurrences, even as he is unnerved by them. Although he is the narrator of the book, Deen is less a protagonist than he is an observer. At different points, he projects the thoughts and emotions that Ghosh wants his readers to have, for Deen constantly vacillates between skepticism, disbelief, unease, and wonder.

“These people will never set foot in Italia. […] Not unless there’s a miracle.”

The Italian minister proclaims that the refugees aboard the Blue Boat will not set foot in Italy unless there is a miracle. This foreshadows the occurrence of a miracle, in keeping with the Parallels Between Myths and Modern Events, and it also foreshadows the eventual rescue of the refugees. In fact, the admiral takes the minister at his word and interprets the strange occurrences at sea a “miracle” in order to rationalize his decision to allow the refugees into Italy.

“Across the planet everyone’s eyes are on the Blue Boat now: it has become a symbol of everything that’s going wrong with the world—inequality, climate change, capitalism, corruption, the arms trade, the oil industry. There’s a lot of hope that this will be a historic moment.”

Ghosh uses the Blue Boat as a symbol to touch upon different things that he threads together under the theme of The Conflict Between Humans and Nature—climate change, inequality, corruption, and so on, are all the by-products of humanity’s relentless greed. In pursuit of profit, people are often willing to exploit the natural environment.

“His English was fluent but heavily accented. I noticed now that there was a tattoo coiled around his forearm, of a python.”

Deen notices a snake tattooed on the scafista’s forearm. In this instance, the recurring symbol of the snake works as a portent, signaling to Deen that this man is dangerous. He is the one responsible for Rafi getting beaten up, a ploy to keep Rafi in debt and trick him into bonded labor.

“So you cannot say that this spider’s presence here is ‘natural’ or ‘scientific.’ It is here because of our history; because of things human beings have done. It is linked to you already—you have a prior connection with that spider, whether you like it or not.”

Once again, Cinta blurs the lines between “humanmade” and “supernatural.” She insists the venomous spider’s presence in Venice is not “natural,” because humanmade activity (i.e., climate change and rising temperatures), has driven it here out of its usual habitat. There is, however, an undeniable “supernatural” component to the spider’s appearance, which forms parallels to the Gun Merchant’s legend. Cinta simply sees this as a potential link between humanity’s past actions toward nature and the consequences that people now face in the present.

“Remember these words, caro, think of them whenever you despair of the future: Unde origo inde salus—‘From the origin salvation comes.’”

Cinta points out the Latin words inlaid in the Black Madonna of Salute’s church. Cinta’s profession and life experiences both have predisposed her to be able to see repeating patterns across time, and the indelible link between past and present. She constantly reiterates the need to revisit and make sense of one’s past to resolve conflict in one’s present, and the conclusion of her character arc also follows this idea.

“A shipworm. […] More and more of these are invading Venice, with the warming of the lagoon’s water. They eat up the wood from the inside, in huge quantities. […] They are literally eating the foundations of the city.”

Cinta points out to Deen the shipworms that are eating the wooden railings of a pier in Venice. Along with being an example of yet another retaliatory consequence of humanity’s actions against the natural environment, the shipworms in Venice also underscore yet another link between the European city and the mangroves of Sunderbans. Rafi points out that, like the shipworms in Venice, Sunderbans has crabs that burrow into and weaken the embankments similarly.

“He had a dream in which a woman, an Ethiopian, had appeared before him—she was like a forishta, an angel, he said. After that he could talk of nothing else—he became desperate to find her.”

Rafi explains how Tipu dreamed of an Ethiopian woman and became obsessed with finding her. This woman is yet another parallel with the Gun Merchant’s legend, and she is possibly a representation of Manasa Devi herself, for she engineers the rescue of the captive refugees from Sinai. The image of her upon the Blue Boat, arms raised and surrounded by a halo of birds, with dolphins and whales lit up in the water underneath by bioluminescence, is a miraculous moment that inspires the Italian navy to initiate the refugees’ rescue.

“[A] dimly visible figure had materialized out of the dust cloud like some unearthly apparition. A moment later the figure leapt over the trunk and began to walk towards us. […] There was no hesitation in his movements as he approached the driver’s window and tapped his knuckles on the glass; he seemed to know exactly what he was doing. […] The man asked no questions but simply pointed down the road. […] ‘There’s another road—it’ll be on your right after two kilometers. If you stay on it, it’ll get you to Marghera.’”

Deen and the others’ path toward the port where they are to board the Lucania is blocked by a fallen tree in the storm; a man emerges seemingly out of nowhere and nonchalantly points them in the right direction. While Deen tries to rationalize the man’s presence and labels him one of the North African migrants who live in this area, Rafi and Cinta are both convinced that he is the Gun Merchant himself. The man’s appearance and the confidence with which he points the group in the right direction, leave the reader guessing about his identity and play into the elements of magical realism that Ghosh employs.

“‘Lucia is here,’ she said with calm certainty. ‘I can feel her presence.’”

Gisa confesses to having heard Lucia’s voice, while trying to contact her family in Rome earlier in the day. Cinta is accordingly convinced that she can feel Lucia’s presence, an assertion that comes full circle when she senses her own impending death toward the end of the book. Significantly, the ship aboard which Cinta, Deen, and the others go out to meet the refugee boat is named “Lucania.”

“And if you’re white, it’s easy: you can go wherever you want and do anything you want—but we can’t. When I look back now and ask myself why I was so determined to go to Finland, I always come back to this: I wanted to go there because the world told me I couldn’t; because it was denied to me.”

Palash reflects on why Finland had such a hold on him, as a young man. As a South Asian person with brown skin, visiting a different country is not as straightforward and easy as it is for a white person, who dreams of a destination and simply travels there. For a non-white person, travel to other countries can often be less accessible, and thus more desirable. This highlights the theme of The Politics of Travel and Movement.