The Use of Aspects of the Adventure Narrative in A Decidedly Unadventurous Short Story

            Although not a typical adventure story, Cahill's "Kayaking Among the Ice Children" was pleasant and at the same time exhilarating to read, especially for avid nature and wildlife enthusiasts like myself, because of the gratuitous detail of the wild and natural setting of Glacier Bay. Images, such as the orcas charging by the Kayaks, the seals lazily floating on the small bergs, and the awesome and sublime calving of the glacier have an almost hypnotic effect on me and deeply entwine my mind in the pages of the story. In reading this text, I find myself racing from page to page for more and I acquire a strong feeling of connection with the speaker and his surroundings, which Cahill has crafted to seem so real. In this way, this story is similar to an adventure narrative, at least for me, because I enjoy reading adventure narratives because I am drawn into the story and hooked by the adventure because of the realism of the events and the experiences of the protagonist. Consequently, it is almost as if Cahill is using the draw that exists in adventure narratives to captivate the reader in a story about the beautiful setting of Glacier Bay, but one that is far from ever being categorized as a typical adventure narrative.