t only because the war was lost but also for the people that died, or are dyeing, in the community. Also the crying was also from fear of what was going to happen to them now that another country had control of them. The men mostly feared that they were going to be castrated but they knew that the country would never be the same but they would be able to eat. The eels that were viewed in the river were still in the larvae stage and they were swimming upriver. This gives the man in the story hope that things will be all right and that they have the power to build a new community and help his family deal with the sickness that his daughter has. The overall meaning of the novel is that war makes things hard for the people that have to stay at home and support their soldiers. The heart of any country is with the general population and when that general population was hit with something unknown it did not only shock the rest of the country but it made the country wonder if they were strong enough. People will pull through for themselves and family before they think about what is going to happen to the way that they live. This novel shows the power and curiosity of the human spirit. It does accomplish what it set out to do, show the effect on the losing side of war....
