Odder

“Her mother called her ‘Odder’

from the moment

she was born.

Something about the way

the little pup never settled,

something about the way

her eyes were always

full of questions.”

In the character’s introduction, the author characterizes Odder as uniquely curious, a trait that sets her apart from other otters. This establishes curiosity as one of Odder’s core traits that drives the events of Part 1; in Part 3, its absence signals Odder’s crisis point in her character arc.

“Nobody plays like

Odder plays.

Nobody has

her moves.”

This moment establishes another core trait and key motif associated with Odder. By characterizing her as superlatively playful, the author intertwines the play motif with Odder as a character. This motif’s presence and absence in other parts of the novel reflect different stages of Odder’s development.

“Once, in times past,

when the ancients lived,

the ocean was filled with our kind,

Odder says.

But that changed.

Not so very long ago,

there were only fifty of us,

and that was all.”

Odder’s retelling of the otters’ history as an endangered species establishes the theme of The Role of Human-Animal Relationships in Conservation. Instead of explicating it from a factual or human perspective, the author chooses to relay it from an animal perspective. Here, the narrative frames it as a kind of folk tale or myth that informs Odder and Kairi’s understanding of their species and their place in regard to it. Contextualizing the otters’ history in this way prompts readers to consider how human actions affect animal species.

“[Odder]’s not mad

at the gull, doesn’t even

blame the shark.

She’s seen enough to know

that this is how life is,

and this is how death comes.”

Odder’s reflections as she lays dying on the beach from severe shark bite injuries reinforce the novel’s theme of The Rewards and Risks of Life in the Wild. The novel characterizes the wild as neither a benevolent nor a malicious place; it simply is what it is, offering both freedom and danger. The parallelism in the sentence structure of the final two lines reinforces how close life and death are to each other out in the wild.

“There are so few

of [Odder’s] kind left,

and there’s so much more

to learn from her.

That’s what they’re

all thinking.”

After Odder’s surgery in Part 1, the omniscient narrator shifts into the human perspective to offer insight into the importance of otters to the aquarists. This prompts readers to consider the value of animal species and the knowledge they give humans, reinforcing the novel’s theme of The Role of Human-Animal Relationships in Conservation.

“Even in her sleep,

cuddled close,

Odder was restless,

her front paws dream-busy,

small and soft as

a toddler’s mittens.”

In this quote, the author uses a simile in which a human’s frame of reference (“small as a toddler’s mittens”) implicitly likens baby Odder to a human baby. This prompts readers to draw connections between human development and otter development, heightening their identification with Odder and evoking the ways in which humans and animals might relate to one another.

“It was never too early

to learn how to say alive,

and so she reminded Odder

whenever she could:

Stay away from sharks.

Stay away from humans.

Stay away from all

that you don’t understand.

It felt wrong,

teaching the little one

who made her cherish life

to be afraid of it.”

Ondine’s point of view as she teaches Odder to have a healthy fear foreshadows Odder’s own perspective embracing the dualities of ocean life at the end of the novel. While the world isn’t meant to be feared, to live in the wild one must accept both its risks and its wonders. The conflict Ondine feels here between the two is one that Odder resolves for herself at the novel’s end, reinforcing the theme of The Rewards and Risks of Life in the Wild.

“Although nothing [the humans] did

was quite right,

it was right enough.”

The novel characterizes the aquarists kindly, emphasizing their desire to help Odder. The words “right enough” acknowledge the obvious differences between humans and otters while suggesting that they can nonetheless overcome these differences to help one another, building on the theme of The Role of Human-Animal Relationships in Conservation.

“Whenever Odder was [in the pool],

she knew she belonged to the water,

and it belonged to her.”

As young Odder acclimates to life at Highwater, the author uses the water motif to suggest a recovered stability in Odder’s identity. During this moment of disorientation and uncertainty, the water motif recurs to ground her in her otter identity.

“When the big animals finally

allowed her to clamber up a ramp,

she ran to them as if they

were long-lost family,

and she felt, at that moment,

that they were.”

This moment develops Odder’s relationship with the aquarists by likening them to family members whom she has rediscovered, demonstrating their gradually strengthening bond. The connection between Odder and her caregivers suggests the instrumental role that humans can have in rehabilitating endangered animals.

“[Gracie] paused.

Sometimes we try to return

and the ocean simply spits us back.”

Gracie’s words foreshadow Odder’s eventual fate: The ocean “spits [her] back” after a shark attacks her, and she becomes a permanent resident at Highwater. This quote reinforces the theme of The Rewards and Risks of Life in the Wild: Despite otters’ inherent connection to the sea and the freedom they have there, sometimes they can’t thrive there long term. Additionally, this moment suggests the theme of The Role of Human-Animal Relationships in Conservation because the aquarists offer the otters a place of safety when they experience the effects of the ocean’s risks.

“Odder squealed and twisted and complained.

What were [the aquarists] waiting for?

This was where she belonged.”

Odder’s reaction to seeing the ocean again when she reaches her final stage of rearing at Highwater uses the water motif to communicate her inherent connection to the sea. As Odder progresses in her growth as a young otter, the water motif recurs to emphasize core aspects of her identity.

“He was her teacher,

her safe harbor.

The quick-tempered bay didn’t care

if she lived or died.”

This moment demonstrates the themes of The Rewards and Risks of Life in the Wild and The Role of Human-Animal Relationships. Humans can offer struggling animals a safe place in the face of nature’s challenges. Odder’s deep connection to her human teacher despite their differences helps her find her way as she learns to swim in the ocean; however, she’s reminded of the dangers that ocean life poses. The author places the final lines in a separate stanza, emphasizing the distance between the warmth and safety she feels with her otter-teacher and the difficulty of life in the wild.

“[Odder’s otter-teacher] and the other humans

had saved her from death.

She knew in her heart that

she owed them everything,

the same way she knew she had to

swim away now,

this very moment,

before she changed her mind.”

The moment of Odder’s leaving suggests the importance that her bond with her human caretakers played in restoring her to the wild. Her feelings of happiness and sorrow parallel the aquarists’ feelings, suggesting a strong relationship between them. Altogether, this moment reinforces the theme of The Role of Human-Animal Relationships in Conservation because it depicts the aquarists’ essential role in Odder’s development and rehabilitation.

“Know you’ve taught her well,

that she is ready for this moment,

that there is never a perfect time

to let go of the ones we love.”

The emotions the humans feel at Odder’s departure mirror hers, demonstrating the strength of their bond. Applegate’s establishing the ability of their teaching to help her reach this point of her life is important here because the author returns to a similar idea at the novel’s end to suggest Odder’s healing and development as she watches her surrogate pup return to the ocean.

“Odder promises herself that

when she returns to the water

she will be different,

cautious and sensible and

grown-up and boring.

[…]

She will stop being Odder.”

This moment establishes the internal conflicts that drive Odder’s development in Part 3. The final line of this poem, in which she renounces her identity as Odder, is in a stanza on its own, a single line containing the full sentence; the break from the previous enjambment pattern gives this line a sense of gravity and finality that emphasizes the radical change Odder has undergone in the aftermath of the shark attack.

“In a way, it didn’t matter.

Searching meant swimming,

and swimming meant play,

and play was her purpose.”

The author evokes the play motif in Odder’s reminiscences about life in the wild to recall one of her most important character traits, which she has now disavowed out of guilt and regret. The past tense in “play was her purpose” suggests that Odder has disconnected with that part of her identity; later, when the line is repeated in the poem “purpose” at the end of Part 3, the verb tense becomes present to demonstrate that she has reconnected with her identity.

“She’s stiff and fumbling,

and every move feels

as graceless as a human’s.

Still, it’s water,

beautiful water,

and that’s all that matters.”

The simile likening Odder’s movements to a human’s demonstrates how disconnected she feels from her former freedom in the wild. The water motif recurs here to suggest her identity as an otter, offering her solace in a time of uncertainty.

“She’s slowly healing, but she simply

can’t move the way she used to.

Her playful, mischievous self

has vanished. The shark attack

shadows her the way a stubborn cloud

can steal the sun.”

The reference to Odder’s “playful” self employs the play motif to further suggest the loss of identity Odder feels at this moment. The simile in these lines compares Odder’s emotional state to something in nature, suggesting that her yearning for her former life haunts her.

“Most importantly,

[Odder]’ll be forever spared

the dark, determined threats

of ocean life.”

This moment develops the theme of Bravery and Healing After Trauma by demonstrating Odder’s radical transformation in attitude. While she longs for the freedom of the wild, she gives in to her fear of it and develops a cynicism toward it. This moment also develops the theme The Rewards and Risks of Life in the Wild and establishes the conflict that Odder must resolve by rebalancing her perspective on nature’s dualities at the novel’s conclusion.

“Odder considers for a moment.

Maybe,

she says,

that’s because I’m not really

Odder anymore. I’m Jazz.”

Here, Odder (seemingly) completely disavows her former identity and takes up her new one as Jazz. However, the enjambment in the final line shows the confusion of the two identities; the choice to include both on the same line instead of split into two separate lines demonstrates the ambiguity that Odder feels regarding her new circumstances and sense of self. This develops Odder’s internal conflicts, which are resolved by the novel’s end when she moves into a new role as surrogate mother to an otter pup.

“You know how to play,

says Kairi.”

The play motif recurs here as a catalyst for Odder’s reclamation of her identity. By invoking the singularity of Odder’s playfulness, Kairi references one of Odder’s most significant character traits, signaling that reconnecting with this side of herself is Odder’s gateway to resolving her conflicts.

“No otter should be this

terrified of the water.

Water means play,

and play is their purpose.”

At the novel’s climax, Applegate uses the play motif to demonstrate Odder’s healing and reconnection to her identity. This moment suggests a resolution for the themes of Bravery and Healing After Trauma and The Rewards and Risks of Life in the Wild: Although the ocean certainly contains threats, it ultimately symbolizes qualities essential to an otter’s life, and Odder is moved to re-embrace this duality through the reminder of how vital play is to otters.