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I think it is never a good idea to read only a section of a novel; it is hard to appreciate and really understand the tone and plotline when I jump in halfway through.  In addition, the whole girl-dressing-up-like-a-boy-to-get-on-a-ship is such a cliche to me.  As soon as the novel turned to canabalism, I became more intrigued.  I appreciated the effect that the chapter with only two or three lines had when Una tried to block out, but couldn't, that she was sucking on blood.  That entire section did a good job of showing complete desperation.  I liked the dramatic ticks in the wood for the days going by without food.  I was upset that once Una was on the Alba Albatross, she was discovered as a woman and addressed as a woman.  It was never mentioned how this changed her entire plan.  I argue that this shows that Una is not completely free.  She can't choose her own life partly because she can't change her biological gender.  She is bound to it and therefore restricted on completely living a free life, especailly as a sailor.  In this way, the novel was a good finale to the class.  It incorporated canabalism and that aspect of choice (the desperate, raw side of choice) and incorporated free will (or lack there of).

While reading the selection, I felt completely distant from Una.  I didn't naturally connect myself to her.  Even now sitting here, I can't even force myself to see obvious connections to her person.  I guess I can relate to wanting to create her own life seperate from those that she knows.  She wants to break the gender expectation, but I argue that she does it in an ineffective way.  She breaks her gender expectations by hiding her gender.  Her choice for her own life is to lie.  I want to live my own life seperate from that that I was forseen to take as well, but I am doing that through pursuing higher education and celebrating my feminimity.

I don't completely dislike the book and I understand why it was our last book, but I possibly would have enjoyed it more if I read the whole thing.