This week’s reading of Yuri Rytkheu’s A Dream in Polar Fog opens with a quick developing narrative about John MacLennan, a Canadian university dropout, and his near death boating accident in the Russian arctic sea off the coast of Chukotka. In order to develop the scene within the first few chapters, MacLennan utilizes imagery such as “blasts of icy wind” and “frosty air” that “surge” through the “ice strip,” a description of the ever-freezing waters that surround the boat (Rytkheu’s chap. 1,2). Rytkheu’s utilization of cold and unforgiving diction about climate and topography suggests that the coast of Chukotka is strong, frigid, and even isolating. As for the MacLennan and his fellow sailors, Rytkheu’s utilizes imagery of fire and warmth, which ultimately differentiates these Canadians from the region they newly inhabit. For example, beginning chapter two, Rytkheu describes crew-members “Hugh and John” as “on fire for explorers’ glory” (2). Then again after John’s accident, he is referenced as a body that “suffused with fire,” with a “hot stream pulsating in his wrists” (2). Rytkheu continues to reference John’s state of “fiery pain” for the duration of this chapter, which directly precedes John’s introduction to the three Chukchi that agree to bring him to Anadyr after learning of his physical state. Up to this point, Rytkheu’s utilization of hot and uncomfortable imagery distinguishes John and his crewmen from the frozen regions that surround them.

With all this said, I do find an interesting divergence in Rytkheu’s use of imagery in describing the Canadian crew versus the Russian environment. At the beginning of chapter three while Grover notifies the “three Chukchi” of their task: to “deliver John MacLennan to Anadyr’, wait there until he is recovered, and then bring him back here,” one of the Chukchi named Toko “looks over” at John and notices his “icy, cold eyes” (3). Rytkheu emphasizes this moment, harping on the fact that “Toko could feel John’s star pierce him through, giving rise to a strange chill in the pit of his stomach” (3). Note Rytkheu’s in-depth description of John’s frigid stare. John no longer represents a hot, fiery force; instead, he is now cold and somber in relation to those around him, giving off a chill that “not even the fiery run could chase away” (3). I find it very interesting that while there is a complete transition in John’s nature from warm to frigid, there also exists a reference to something “fiery,” but this time “fiery” describes the rum offered by The Chukchi. It is interesting to think of not only the purpose of this change in Rytkheu’s differentiation between John’s crew and the people Chukotka, but also the implications that this transition has on John’s placement in and among the Chukchi. Could this adoption of regional characteristics, i.e. ice-cold features, be a form of foreshadowing John’s budding relationship alongside his Chukchi acquaintances? Or perhaps that both peoples are on track to connect with each other more connectively as they set out to begin this month-long trek. I would love to hear your thoughts and comments!