36 pages • 1 hour read
Scott O'DellA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
There is a red mist covering the lagoon when Ramón arrives. He soon discovers that the Sevillano has followed him to discover where Ramón found the great pearl. The Sevillano confesses that he lingered in the church the day before to steal the pearl for himself. Seeing that the Sevillano has a knife, Ramón throws the pearl into the sea to try to return it to the Manta Diablo. Ruiz dives into the ocean and retrieves it. He threatens Ramón with his knife and orders him to row to the city of Guaymas; his plan is to use the Salazar name to sell the pearl at a higher price. Held at knifepoint, Ramón is unable to do anything but obey.
Later that night, a giant manta begins to follow their boat. Ruiz is unperturbed by their travelling companion. However, when the manta begins to swim circles around their boat, causing waves to knock them about, the Sevillano tries to harpoon it. The amber eye of the manta convinces Ramón that it is the Manta Diablo itself. As the manta’s circles became smaller, water begins filling the boat. The Sevillano and Ramón make for an island called the Island of the Dead, which is named for the indigenous folk who live upon it and are known to kill anyone on their shore. The Manta Diablo swims away when they reach the island.
No one on the island sees Ruiz and Ramón arrive. The Sevillano decides to wait for an hour so that the manta can find another boat to follow. Ramón tells him that the giant manta is Manta Diablo. Ruiz mocks Ramón, unable to believe that a learned man would believe an indigenous superstition. Ramón tries to convince Ruiz to return the pearl to the sea so that the Manta Diablo will stop following them, but the latter refuses. Later that night, the island’s residents almost find them and shoot arrows at them as they escape to the ocean.
While Ramón struggles with his belief, unsure if he should believe in the myth of the Manta Ray or the Madonna, Ruiz decides not to believe in anything. Ruiz openly mocks the Madonna, denying her existence and thus her ownership of the great pearl. He does not believe in the Manta Diablo either, despite his previous claim of having fought and killed it in his many travels. The Sevillano’s boasting contrasts with his own lack of belief; while Ruiz demands that others revere him and believe his lies and tall tales, he is unable to believe in or care about larger forces at play.
Ruiz’s character is thus defined by his narcissism—his desire to prove himself, whether through lies or violence. He does not even believe in social norms like the town’s laws; his confession that he intended to steal the great pearl for his own profit squares with Blas’s claim that the Sevillano was exiled for killing another man in a fight. Ruiz thus symbolizes the dangers of disbelief and disconnection from the society around him. He believes that he is better than all the other men around him, and this narcissism separates Ruiz from them, preventing him from connecting to anyone except through bragging and endless games of one-upmanship.
Furthermore, Ruiz’s lack of belief in anything but himself results in an inability to recognize his own vulnerabilities in the face of nature. His disregard for the Manta Diablo has already jeopardized his life once, forcing him to seek refuge on the Island of the Dead. This episode foreshadows his eventual death, which is also the result of his hubris.
By Scott O'Dell