The Blue Lagoon · Chapter
XVIII: The Rat Hunt explained
Mr.
What happens
Mr. Button entertains the children with sea shanties and stories after a feast, but his week-long drinking binge leads to delirium tremens, causing him to hallucinate rats and a horse, which the children treat as a game.
Themes in this chapter
Isolation and Survival
Paddy's drinking and hallucinations highlight the psychological toll of isolation on the island.
Innocence and Loss
The children treat Paddy's delirium as a game, unaware of the seriousness of his condition.
Characters to notice
- Dick
Leads the game of chasing Paddy, cooks for him, and finds him hallucinating.
- Emmeline
Participates in the rat chase and hears Paddy's singing at night.
- Paddy Button
Suffers from delirium tremens after a week of heavy drinking, hallucinating rats and a horse.
Key passages
“Oh, be the Holy Poker, there’s red rats comin’ out of the sand!”
Paddy exclaims in terror that red rats are emerging from the sand.
First sign of his hallucination during the rat hunt.
“I’m a flyin’ fish sailor come back from Hong Kong, Yeo ho! blow the man down.”
Paddy sings a traditional sea shanty about a sailor returning from Hong Kong.
Shows his jovial mood before the drinking binge.