Dream Cargoes (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: J. G. Ballard
- First Published: 1990
- Type of Plot: Science fiction, apocalyptic and catastrophic, Robinsonade
- Time of Work: The 1990's
- Setting: An island off the coast of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea
- Principal Characters: Johnson, Dr. Christine Chambers
- Genres: Short fiction
- Subjects: Self-discovery, Traveling or travelers, Twentieth century, Science or scientists, Islands, Sailing or sailors, Shipwrecks, 1990’s, Environment or environmental health, Puerto Rico or Puerto Ricans, Chemicals, Survival, Paradise
- Locales: Caribbean, Puerto Rico
The Story
“Dream Cargoes” is narrated in the third person, for the most part through the consciousness of a simple young sailor named Johnson. The story takes place over a period of six months but is presented in brief episodes, with flashbacks supplying details necessary to explain Johnson's peculiar situation and the anomalous condition of the island on which he is marooned.
The story opens one morning with a description of the fantastic plant life enveloping a Caribbean island. Beholding the spectacle is a sailor named Johnson aboard the beached freighter...
[The entire page is 1386 words long]
