Quotation #4

4. “I have seen nothing, yet there is something there!” (Captain Cyrus Harding)

This quote by Cyrus Harding was made after he explored the deep well in their cave house, which was part of a large cavernous system. Harding had been attracted to this spot after Jup, the orang-utan servant, and Top, the loyal dog, had both had their animal instincts tuned in for some strange and inexplicable thing down in the well. Harding explored it and found nothing, and uttering these words he had summarized the opinions of all the castaways as to the source of many extraordinary events on Lincoln Island.
Why is exclusively this quote important you might ask? This is due to the fact that when the inexplicable events had previously happened the castaways had often given the explanation of it being God’s will, or Providence. But as it happened more often, these words by Captain Harding had shown that they now believed it was less of a miracle and more of a being or “enigma” as the characters often said. They would prove to be right, as in the end it was a person, who had secretly helped the castaways. This quote signalled for me the beginning of how they would find out the secret of Lincoln Island, and ultimately, the beginning of the end.
In real world terms, this quote reminds me of the common times in our life when we search for a lost object. We know it is in the house, or in the bedroom, but try as we might, it's almost impossible to find it. It is a very frustrating feeling in all fairness, a sort of helplessness. But eventually we will somehow find it, hidden deep in a shelf or bag, just like the castaways and the secret of Lincoln Island, and these connections is what makes the characters real.