Olive's Ocean

Back in Cape Cod, Martha writes Kyle Gilbert's initials in the sand. She gets ice cream with her father and sister, and then Vince calls. Vince wants Martha to ask their mother if Vince can have dinner—lobsters and clams—at the Mannings. Martha can’t find their mother and gets aggravated until she learns she’s invited. Quickly, she locates Alice and gets permission for herself and her brother.

The Manning house is crowded and loud, and, in the kitchen, Jimmy films his mother boiling a lobster for the “death” section of his movie. Jimmy makes sarcastic comments about “murder” and “capital punishment” for lobsters. His mother quips that Jimmy will be a victim of “murder” if he doesn’t leave her alone.

The characters eat lobster outside. Jimmy notices that Martha seems detached, and Martha mentions that Jimmy ate lots of lobster. Tate calls Jimmy a “faker,” and they have a brief row. Jimmy and Martha go to the Benton place—a dilapidated farm-like property owned by a couple who spend most of their time in Chicago—and Jimmy tells Martha not to worry about leaving the dishes.

On their way to the “spooky” Benton place (the property is inland and halfway between the Manning home and Godbee’s cottage), Martha and Jimmy play a game. Martha walks fast, and Jimmy walks fast. When Martha slows down, Jimmy slows down. Martha’s shirt gets caught on the gate, and it tears.

Jimmy wants to improve the death section of his movie. His goal is to include a person about to die, and he wonders if he can interview Martha’s grandmother. Martha claims Godbee wouldn’t want to be in the movie. She says Godbee is alive and might live longer than them. Jimmy wonders what happens to people after they die, and Martha wishes people didn’t die.

Jimmy records Martha talking about Olive’s death, and Martha feels like a faucet that a person has just turned on. She tells Jimmy about the journal page and Olive’s isolation. When she stops speaking, she feels “hollow” and teary. Martha realizes she could die like Olive, and she tells the camera that she doesn’t want to die.

Jimmy is excited about Martha’s vulnerable interview, but Martha wants to go home and be around the people she loves. Martha realizes she left her sweater, but she’ll get it tomorrow.

After some silence, Jimmy says he’s filming the love part of his movie tomorrow at the Benton place. Jimmy wants Martha to be a part of it. He grabs her hand, giving Martha a strange rush. They pass adults and a bonfire, and one of the adults makes a quip about “embryonic love.” Martha doesn’t understand the joke, but she attributes it to condescension.

Jimmy calls the adults “jerks” and suggests making a movie about them called The World Is Full of Assholes. Jimmy claims he's going to be a renowned filmmaker, like Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick’s science-fiction film, 2001, based on Arthur C. Clarke’s book, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), has a big influence on Jimmy, and he’s seen it 28 times. Martha has seen parts of it on TV.

As Martha and Jimmy approach Jimmy’s house, Martha spots her father and pulls her hand away. Dennis isn’t trying to “interfere,” but he thought he’d come by and walk Martha home. He offers Martha his coat, but she doesn’t want it. She’s tired and wants to go home. Dennis wishes he could carry her home like when she was smaller. Martha is embarrassed by her father’s comment, but sometimes she wishes she was little again.

Martha is exhausted but she can’t sleep: Thinking about holding hands with Jimmy keeps waking her up. Finally, as the sun rises, she falls asleep.

After waking up later in the morning, Martha adds to her story about Olive. Olive’s grandmother organizes a beach picnic so Olive can make friends and “forget” about her “orphan” status. At the picnic, Olive meets James, who abstains from eating the lobsters. James makes a bonfire, and everyone holds sparklers. James holds Olive’s hand, giving her the sensation of a sparkler.

Dennis, Godbee, and Lucy went to the grave of Godbee’s husband (Martha’s grandfather). Vince went sailing with the Manning brothers, but Jimmy didn’t go. He called Martha earlier, and Alice invited him for lunch. Alice asks if Jimmy is nice, and Martha says he is in a defensive tone.

While setting the table for lunch, Alice asks Jimmy a series of questions. She asks about his parents, age, and the Magic Marker image on his elbow. The drawing is of a film reel—the future logo for Jimmy’s production company. Jimmy also plans to make the image a “permanent tattoo.”

Godbee and the rest of Martha’s family return. Alice stops asking questions, and Godbee counters uncomfortable silences with funny tales and acute opinions. Lucy declares, “Girls pretty; boys rusty” before Godbee orders Martha and Jimmy to leave and have fun on their own (136).

Martha and Jimmy run until they lose energy and collapse on the beach. Jimmy wonders if Martha thinks boys are rusty, and Martha says sometimes she thinks so, but sometimes she doesn’t. Martha builds a sand castle, and Jimmy helps, though he thinks he’s too old for such an activity.

After accessorizing the castle with stones, seaweed, and part of a crab shell, Jimmy suggests that they destroy it. He believes if they don’t demolish it, someone else will. Martha reluctantly agrees. She wonders if the destruction symbolizes something else, but the negative thoughts get replaced by her belief that today will be the best day of her life.

On their way to the Benton place, Jimmy talks about several topics: the shortage of “interesting girls” at his school, his mother’s dislike of fishing, the “drunk” person he saw at a Boston Red Sox game, his favorite TV shows and websites, his filmmaking aspirations, and his financial situation. He asks Martha if she’s ever kissed a boy. Martha feels “soupy,” and she coughs.

Martha finds her sweater in the stable as Jimmy sets up the tripod. Martha uses the stripes in the air to try and decide if Jimmy loves her. He gives Martha directions about where to stand, and then he kisses her.