How did you interpret this quote?

[ethanashbrook]

"Open your eyes, concludes the man, and see what you can with them before they close forever, and then a piano comes on, playing a lonely song that sounds to Werner like a golden boat traveling a dark river, a progression of harmonies that transfigures Zollverein: the houses turned to mist, the mines filled in, the smokestacks fallen, an ancient sea spilling through the streets, and the air streaming with possibility."

The cryptic language used by the author seems to allude to a deeper meaning. More specifically, I am referring to the golden boat and the dark river. Possibly, this could represent Werner's often lonely journey through life. Is this really a metaphor, or is it simply the imagination of a child? If it is a metaphor, what might it be about?

[Luke W]

I agree Ethan. It deffinitely points toard a deeper meaning. I believe this is probably just the childs mind. Kids have wild imaginations and this could mean a lot of things. That is just what I believe.

[Sara S.]

In the scene where this quote is, Werner listens to a man broadcast about Werner's favorite topic--science. Of course, later in the story, we find that the man is actually Etienne, Marie-Laure's great-uncle. The author writes, "Time slows. The attic disappears. Jutta disappears. Has anyone ever spoken so intimately about the very things Werner is most curious about?" (Doerr 48). Werner is transfixed by Etienne's podcast and it allows him to escape from the dark, coal-mining town of Zollverein. I believe that the "golden boat traveling a dark river" represents how Werner is feels when he listens to the radio--glowing with excitement, even as the "dark river" carries him to an uncertain future. The rest of the quote, I believe, also illustrates how Werner's world transforms when he listens to the science podcasts. To Werner, his coal mining town disappears ("the houses turned to mist, the mines filled in, the smokestacks fallen"), and he feels inspired ("the air streaming with possibility"). The "ancient sea," I believe is the natural history lesson flooding his senses and washing away his world.

[taylor]

The author was using a simile to create scenery. The golden boat that Werner was floating down, symbolized a brighter future. At the time Werner was still a child with the ability to change the future. His boat was a symbol of hope floating down a lost river. The river the boat was traveling down was described, as 'dark,' like the war the novel was set in. The author choose a the boat and river to display this message because the boat is like a life line, saving Werner from drowning into the darkness around him. The boat is keeping him from falling into the darkness of society, which the river portrays. The boat is carrying Werner, like a safely net, to the calmer waters on the river of life. 

[elizabeth miller]

I think that a part of all of those theories are true. I believe that the golden boat that Werner rides in is life, and the river the path that he is taking. The rest of the quote is just, I think, explaining the thoughts that go on in his head when he is completely at peace. All throughout the novel he goes back in his mind to Zollverein, it is a happy place for him filled with love and hope.