Much like the biblical flood, the sea in Ship Breaker destroys everything in its path; it’s an overpowering motif, swallowing land and drowning cities. Inherently dangerous, the water is also a symbol of rebirth and freedom for Nailer, which makes it a complex symbol with both positive and negative connotations. Only by submitting to its strength is Nailer able to survive and, ultimately, thrive.

Seas are alien and dangerous to humanity, but they also represent life’s origins. When the city killer storm annihilates Bright Sands in Chapter 7, it destroys most of the evidence of human industrialization, resetting the beach to its clean, original beauty. In much the same way, the Gulf waters wash Nailer clean of the oil after his near-death experience on the tanker (although the tanker poisons Nailer with a rusty shard of metal as a memento). Immersion in water often signifies symbolic death and rebirth; Nailer’s wound festers and nearly kills him, but he emerges from the bay with a new perspective on his life. The water erases his prior illusions about crew and family, allowing him to cut his ties and leave for a better life.

While the sea is chaotic and destructive, suggesting the violence of humanity’s conflict with nature, it is also a symbol of beauty and freedom.