Amanda’s Twist Ending to Hippolyte’s Island!!!

My reaction to _Hippolyte’s_Island_

I liked the mysterious question Barbara Hodgson poses: are the Auroras real? The airplane that flew over reported that Hippolyte was in the boat, but he claims that he was on land. So which is it? Was it all just an illusion? A “see what you want to see” sort of situation? But then how do you explain the other explorers that have claimed to see it? Personally, I believe this is some sort of Bermuda triangle theory. Legend says that whoever sails there will disappear. But there’s some science behind that case. The wind clashes with another jet stream and the current goes up, thereby trapping the boat. Maybe there is some kind of phenomena with the Auroras. Perhaps the angle of the sun and the clouds create a blind spot.

What are Amanda’s posts good for without a twist?

The original ending was okay, I liked the character development, but there was no x-factor. The entire plot was just a flat line. I would have liked to have been surprised or felt emotion towards some parts. (Excluding the fact that I thought Hippolyte was an unlikeable character and was just creepy when it came to flirting with Marie.) Personally, if I was Barbara Hodgson I would have killed off Hippolyte when he embarked on his journey to the Auroras. He was a careless fellow who barely knew how to sail so his death wouldn’t have been so surprising to his friends. To honor his memory, Marie would continue to write and edit his book with the help of Jeremey. Then, towards the end, Hippolyte would miraculously wind up at their door with his unnecessary luggage and boxes of his specimen. Everyone would appreciate him (maybe even the reader) and he would contribute to the book. But of course, Marie doesn’t believe Hippolyte’s entire story so they take a field trip together to check it out. During their journey, he convinces her that the island is real but they never end up finding it again. THE END!

This is how I envisioned Hippolyte…

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Hong Kong

hongkong-districts-map

Hong Kong comprises with the New Territories Peninsula, Kowloon peninsula, and 263 islands.  The New Territories Peninsula makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong’s territory. The most famous islands are Lantau island and Hong Kong island. The largest island is Lantau island, which is twice the size of the Hong Kong island. Hong Kong island is the second largest, and it is also the political and commercial center. Hong Kong is divided into 18 political districts, each has their district council. One of the districts is called island district. It consists of some twenty large and small islands in the southern and the south-western waters of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong was once under British control. After the first Opium War, Hong Kong Island became the British colony, then later the Kowloon Peninsula, followed by the New Territories. hong-kong-harbor-night-cruise-and-dinner-at-victoria-peak-in-hong-kong-114436The area was leased to the British government for 99 years since 1898. It remained in British control until the Second World War, then it was taken over by Japanese government for 3 years and 8 months. After the Japanese surrendered, it was back to British control for another 52 years. In 1997, Hong Kong was given back to China.

Hong Kong is governed under the principle of One Country, Two System, that is  it can remain in Capitalism while the Chinese Mainland has communism.

imagesHong Kong’s economy flourished since 1970s. It became  a major entrepôt in Asia-Pacific. Now it is regarded as a world city. It ranks top 10 in GDP per capita. Hong Kong is among the three most important financial centers of the world, along with London and New York City.

Because it has limited land, its population density is one of highest in the world. Limited land created a dense infrastructure and the territory became a centre of modern architecture, and one of the world’s most vertical cities.Hong Kong has a highly developed public transportation network covering 90 per cent of the population, the highest in the world, and relies on mass transit by road or rail.

However, the reason why Hong Kong attracts me so much is not because of its economy or HongKong-delicious-food_thumbhigh buildings, it’s because of the food!!! I love the food in Hong Kong. In fact, Hong Kong is known as the ” World’s Food Fair”, which means tourists can find food from all over the world there. People can have all the authentic cuisines from Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, India, Europe, and America. The Sweet and Sour Pork and Wontons are very famous dishes there. The picture on the right presents the small portion of the kind of food that people would eat for breakfast. They are really delicious, and looking at them make me so hungry!

Besides the food, Hong Kong has many places that attracts tourists to visit. One famous place is called The Peak. It is the must go place if you ever going to visit Hong Kong. It is the highest point in Hong Kong, and view from there is gorgeous. During the day time, you can see the sparkling skyscrapers and Victoria Harbour all the way to the green hills of the New Territories. Below is the picture I took while I was visiting the Peak. It was a rainy day, so you can see the heavy clouds and dark sky.
honeymoon in June,2011 008Another place is called Lan Kwai Fong. It is one of the most popular nightlife hotspot. It has over 90 restaurants and bars. They are all amazing. I had authentic Indian food and Japanese food there, I still remember the taste. It says that if you want to become a celebrity, Lan Kwai Fong is a must place for you to go. Because it is the place that many undercover scouts like to go.

Hong Kong has many great movie stars, the most famous two are Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee.

 Jackie-ChanMax-Protection-Bruce-Lee-Art-Sleeve

If you want to visit Hong Kong, you don’t have to worry about the language barrier. Most of the Hong Kong people speak English, which makes communication very easy for foreign tourists. Besides English, they also speaks Cantonese and Mandarin, which are two very different languages.
Source: http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/see-do/highlight-attractions/top-10/the-peak.jsp#ixzz3raSgVEbb

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong

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Character Study

Hippolyte’s Island is a novel built upon character analysis. Our lead spends most of the book speaking introspectively, to himself, inside his own head. Out on the open sea, the silence and the ambient sounds of Earth’s biology is enough to make a person think critically. Without distraction, one’s inner-most thoughts manifest as temporal voices. I will analyze two of the book’s major characters. Every story with characters involves a journey of ends. Every major character in a work of fiction changes, for better or for worse. No one leaves without some form of growth of regression. Some even move forward and then backward, perfectly in tune with emotional highs and lows, retrograde to how they truly feel or unleashing their hidden self. Let us begin.

Hippolyte is naturally one of the book’s most developed and complex characters. His arcs are as curved as his one-track mind, and he goes through multiple transitions, many of them subtle, for he is the kind of person to rarely showcase directly in such a way that one could easily diverge his beginning self and his end self. By juxtaposing the two in the most detailed way I can, I hope you will see how he transforms over the course of the journey. When we first meet Hippolyte, he is an utter destitute. Lavished in rot and abundance, he lives quite discontent with where he is in life. The source of his anguish is his passion for travel and the concordant lack of travel his lifestyle allows, being that he most often has zero funds to play with. He has a completely self-centered view of the world. It’s always about him. Others are, not fully, but in part tools to get what he needs. It always comes back to him, which many of us can relate to in a quite basic sense; but not to the extent by which Hippolyte’s mind is set. An example that forms an image of this characteristic well is how he treats Jeremy at the start. He is not happy or thrilled to have engaged in a dialogue with his long-lost friend, only writing to him in the hopes of receiving financial backing for his fancies. It’s only later, after the calm ensues and the sea takes hold of his mind, that he remembers his friend and how much he misses him–as much as Hippolyte can “miss” a person at this point in the story, mind you. The reason for Hippolyte’s selfishness is most likely multi-dimensional. I’m going to assume for my part that his selfishness comes solely from his passion. He’s so invested into the idea of travel that he isn’t thinking about anything else. He’s not intentionally being rude and it’s not that he doesn’t care about Jeremy. It’s just his mind moves in a very linear and non-disparate path. He has a goal and the goal is all he thinks about. Once he’s out at sea, as I stated before, his goal is still unmet; but it’s closer than it was back in his apartment. His mind takes time to relax and only then does he remember Jeremy and the melancholic feelings their departure inspired. As the story progresses, Hippolyte gradually becomes more humanized. We see him as a completely emotionless–in terms of human interaction–and analytical individual, focused only on the academics and the boyish wonder of brutish open sea travel. The sea, though I mention it quite a lot, is essential to this transformation. Note that I use transformation very loosely here. Hippolyte isn’t so much changing as he is letting his true self show, if only for this ephemeral strand in time. His guard is down; his mind is quiet relative to its usual jangle: he’s able to show us his heart. That is why we may grow to, at the very least, understand and appreciate him as a person. That, while he may have numerous flaws, he’s always coming from a place he thinks is good. It’s that Kantian idea of intention, and I like to think his intentions are very good. When he finally meets Marie, his true transformation, used in the most direct and textbook of terms, begins. Her constant questions and skepticism force him to perform at higher standards. She lets him know that the burden of proof falls upon his shoulders, not hers. If he wishes she believe his tale, then he must follow her standards and hers alone. Luckily, her standards are quite good, depending upon empirical observation and primary sources. Even still, her method isn’t perfect. It’s too static, but we will get to her later. This constant barrage of discourse between the two of them results in changes in both. For Hippolyte’s sake, his change is dramatic in that he understands the importance of evidence and competent application of science-based principles. By the end of the book, he is planning another trip to utterly prove or disprove the existence of the Auroras; and, before doing so, expels on a wild historical goose-chase in order to find the proof Marie would find incalculably useful, given the types of evidence provided by Hippolyte in past interactions. Without her, he finds decent and solid evidence and sets up a second trip. This is clearly a change. His second major change details that of interpersonal means. Relationships, platonic or intimate, were unimportant. They would never end well and could never end well. By the end, Hippolyte finds someone that he wants to be with. He wishes to take this old philosophy and change it, just for her. That is how one knows that they’re in love, when they’re willing to change beliefs and viewpoints just for the sake of accommodating in some basic way another person. It’s a struggle, but the effort is clear and it must result in a strong bond between him and his love interest Marie. This also happens with Jeremy. When they finally meet in person again, it’s just like old times. Hippolyte makes sure to promise that he’ll keep in touch with Jeremy, something the old Hippolyte would never remember or bother to do. It’s another clear distinction between two completely different people: Hippolyte 1 and Hippolyte 2.

Jeremy, at first glance, can seem like the least-developed character in the entire book. He’s not in as many scenes; he doesn’t have as many lines; and he doesn’t “do” as much for the book as Marie and Hippolyte do. So, what is his purpose? And, from a writer’s point of view, is he a “bad” character. In classical writing theory, a “bad” character is said to be any character with little depth. Depth is another traditional term that encompasses numerous characteristics. This is going to be hard to explain, so let’s break it down.

Here are some aspects of depth:

Dimension – There are three dimensions of character. A one dimensional-character is just that: one-dimensional. They’re flat, uninteresting and are only there to serve the story. These can be seen as faucets for exposition dumps and just pools of information that are there to enrich the world but do nothing to develop the character. If a character has three-dimensions, then they are complex, like a human. They feel alive and vibrant. They actually have “character.” They have feelings, doubts, likes, dislikes, and most importantly motivations. If a character has no motivation, or even worse, a under-developed one, that destroys a character. All human beings have motivations, or reasons for doing things; without them, then we’ve stepped into the uncanny valley, where the figures look human but do only that: look like them.

Layers – Similar to dimension but more specific. All humans have complex layers of thought. There are very rarely singular reasons for doing something. There are often multiple conflicting reasons, each filled with doubt, apprehension and a tension on one’s moral processes. Each decision challenges a person’s sense of right and wrong, and these challenges take the form of strikes that should be visible on a character, either physically or internally through monologues.

There is more to depth, but in layman’s terms, a character is supposed to feel just like a real human. The closer you get to that, the better the character you’ve created. For all intents and purposes, it would seem to most that Hodgson messed up. Jeremy is a underwhelming character. This is the illusion. It may be just me, but I feel that Jeremy is intentionally left vague as a character; and the more you look into it, the more developed he becomes. It definitely takes work on behalf of the reader, but I believe it’s worth it once the spinning is over.

Jeremy is an extension of Hippolyte. Whatever characteristics one has, the other has the opposite. This can only go so far, however, as there must be some stomping ground where they meet and have a sort of sameness. This homogeneous positions is what lets them work off each other and relate to each other as much as they do. Jeremy overlooks all of Hippolyte’s shortcomings and vice-versa. They’re each other’s guardians in many ways. We can see Jeremy as the end-point of what Hippolyte may become. At the “end” of his transformation, Hippolyte may become more like Jeremy. Jeremy is a much deeper character than we may give him credit for, because he’s the entire reason this story is even being told. He’s the well-adjusted form of Hippolyte.

 

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Hippolyte and Marie: An Unlikely Pair

Hippolyte and Marie contrast one another greatly, but after being together they appear to change each other for the better.

Marie lives a rigid life in the sense that she is always professional. Her apartment is pristine to the extent of her books being organized in alphabetical order by author’s last name and her closet was filled with solely work clothes. Marie lacked imperfection in her life, everything for her was just too perfect. She also was more modern than Hippolyte, as she integrated new technology into her life and her job. Marie portrayed a typical New York “uptown girl” whom I picture to look something like Leighton Meester as Blair Waldorf in Gossip Girl.

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Leighton Meester as Blair Waldorf in Gossip Girl

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Leighton Meester as Blair Waldorf in Gossip Girl portraying an uptown girl

Hippolyte is precisely the opposite of Marie, with no rigidity in his life and a free spirited type of lifestyle. Hippolyte did whatever he wanted to do, and that never was anything within the norms of the society around him. Hippolyte stood out to the people around him because of how carefree he was and also because of the outdated technology he was dedicated to using. In my opinion, Hippolyte looks similar to Richard Dreyfuss as Hooper in Jaws with a rugged sailor style, but also educated.

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Richard Dreyfuss as Hooper in Jaws appearing to match the personality of Hippolyte

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Richard Dreyfuss as Hooper in Jaws

However, when the two met and got to know one another, they appeared to rub off a bit on the other person. Marie went on to travelling for leisure, something she had never really done before. The idea of her taking vacation at all from work shocked her fellow employees, as she had never taken leave for personal purposes before. Marie even changed her attire while she was away, stepping out of the comfort of her business suits to putting on something more casual. The relationship between Hippolyte and Marie demonstrates that even though people may be polar opposites, they can still find a way to work together and influence another person. Marie constantly tried to make Hippolyte’s book the best it could be, regardless of how annoying or disheveled he appeared to be. Although Hippolyte was still all over the place and childlike, Marie was able to keep most of his focus on the book and introduce him to a more modern world.

How Marie would be in the future if Hippolyte did not show her a free-spirited lifestyle

How Marie will most likely look in the future if she continues the lifestyle she is living currently

How Hippolyte will most likely look, with or without Marie's influence

How Hippolyte will most likely look, with or without Marie’s influence

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On the Brink of Insanity- Hippolyte Webb

Hippolyte’s Island, by Barbara Hodgson, is story about one unconventional man’s journey to find the lost Aurora islands. The story itself is an interesting and improbable one. Hippolyte Webb, a 36 year old traveler, decides he is going to sail to the Aurora islands located in the south Atlantic, alone, having taken only one sailing lesson. He miraculously makes it to the islands and falls victim to a strange phenomenon of disappearing land that sailors many years before had experienced as well. He returns home with crates of “specimens” and a logbook filled with useless and bizarre entries with hopes of publishing his book.

Hippolyte is an interesting and unique character. Despite his age, Hippolyte has the maturity level of a school boy, he has an unexplained fascination with names, he enjoys chaos and has only enough focus for the things he wants to do. There is no doubt that Hippolyte marches to the beat of his own drum. Many people might find his idiosyncrasies and naivety charming, however I find him to be narcissistic and selfish. His has an inability to create relationships, which I believe stems from his consistent effort to do what he wants. For example, he contacts his childhood friend Jeremy mainly because he needs an endorsement to travel because he has no money. Or when meeting with Marie for dinner to discuss his book, he brushes off her questions and attempts to learn about her personal life, which she clearly does not want to share. Additionally, in order to amuse himself, he takes it upon himself to rummage through her drawers, cabinets and bookshelf, disturbs the order of her home and then asks her if he can use her shower.

Although I do not particularly like Hippolyte, he does have some admirable qualities. I think his desire to do things his own way is something to be appreciated. There are few people in the world with the confidence to do what they want, without worrying about what others think.

ginnifer-goodwin-and-something-borrowed-gallery       steve-howey

Marie Simplon                                                             Hippolyte Webb

 

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Hippolyte’s Island

This story, that was written by Barbara Hodgson, explored the daring life of a man named Hippolyte. His is not the most personable fellow but he surely showed heart and determination toward his goal. Hippolyte is a man of an old soul, he chooses to use dated technology and, frankly, it stubborn toward new inventions. Once Hippolyte decides that he wants to discover the Aurora islands, he is on a one track mind to get everything he can in preparation for his adventure. Even though he decides to go make an astonishing discovery, Hippolyte doesn’t even know how to sail at this point. He doesn’t know how to live on the water at all. His daring attitude and blind determination is fascinating but simply idiotic from an outside perspective. His attitude toward human connection, besides the fact that he is magically charming, seems rude and selfish. To continue, once Hippolyte reaches the Auroras, amazingly, he wastes the film he has and reverts to drawing all of the animals he finds, which i think is just ridiculous. As you can see i applaud his discovery but i do not like Hippolyte or his attitude.

But on top of all that, what does this man look like? I’m picturing someone that looks partially crazy to be blunt. Hodgson mentions how he doesn’t shower for weeks at a time mostly because he doesn’t care. I imagine him to dress like a slob, smell awful, and an untrimmed beard to top it off. Almost like a “Cast Away” feeling but not as drastic sorry Tom Hanks.

castaway02

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Hippolyte Island

In the book, Hippolyte at first seems to be a harsh, disgusting, and a person no one would want to get along with. He only uses people to get something he wants and after that he throws them to the side. For example, when he sends a letter to Jeremy, he asks for money so he can go on a trip to the Auroras. When Jeremy sends him a letter back, Hippolyte seems to care very little of what Jeremy had to say; he was only interested in the money that was supposed to be in the letter. Throughout the book he seems to only do tings that benefit himself and not so much about the people around him. However after his book is dropped he seems to be upset, that he caused trouble to Jeremy and Marie so it could be possible that Hippolyte is slowly changing but it is still unclear to me.

Finally what does Hippolyte look like….

If you get the reference I’ll love you forever…

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Hippolyte

After spending weeks with Hippolyte and his book, I am still not fond of him. In the beginning of the book, he is presented as a very intelligent but also very messy person. There are papers and newspapers everywhere in his room. It is an unpleasant sight. I also think that a person ‘s room can reflect his or her personality. Hippolyte’s room certainly tells something about himself.

He also acts very strangely around women, especially the ones he likes. After the sailing class, he follows the instructor home. I think that is very strange! I understand that later he really wants to invite her to go on this trip with him, but I think he scared the woman away before he gets a chance to ask. In Marie’s apartment, his behavior is very rude. He starts to look through her draws and closet, and give out his opinion on her outfits. He needs some manners at people’s apartment. I also think his imagination about Marie is silly. She certainly didn’t show any signs of interest in him.

However, I admire his bravery, intelligence, and independence. I like the way he travels. Pick a destination, do research, prepare for the trip, and just go. He doesn’t hesitate, once he made his decision, he will do it. He is brave because he dares to sail out to find the Auroras by himself as an inexperienced sailor. For the situations he goes through, I think this is a successful adventure. One thing I think makes Hippolyte special is that he contributes his life to the things he likes, which is traveling. Certainly he lost many things in return, and many people would not consider him as a successful person, but he is a happy person. He does what he likes the most. I think there is a reason the author puts Hippolyte and Marie together. Readers can compare this two personalities and decide which one they would prefer.

This is what I find looks like Hippolyte,

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My Reaction to Hippolyte’s Island.

The way Hippolyte’s Island is written is very different than most storylines. The most outstanding difference I saw is that typically it is the main character that is dynamic and learns a major lesson as the plot progresses but in the case of this book it is the minor character Marie. Marie undergoes a huge transformation from as uptight and by the book as can be to more relaxed and trying new things she never thought she would such as wearing running shoes, comfortable clothing and using vacation time. Hippolyte on the other hand is as static as can be and does not change in the slightest. Another unique characteristic i saw in this book was the climax of the story happening very late. The turning point that showed to me was the moment Marie read Robert Runford’s journal and in that moment all her doubts about Hippolyte turned to belief. The changes she made in the first place such as going to Connecticut and leaving her comfort zone were the build up to this point.  In the final chapter when Marie hears of Hippolyte’s offer to join him on his second expedition to the Auroras I think she accepts it because the new version of her has that desire for travel. There is plenty of evidence of foreshadowing that Marie’s attraction to Hippolyte grows throughout the novel.

The first example comes on page 173 “She had to admit Jeremy was right; with the smile and his prematurely weathered boyishness, Hippolyte was good looking.” This right off the bat is an indicator but is quickly masked by their incompatibility in personality.  The next example on page 216 states “She resented the attention Hippolyte drew to himself, the time he wanted to spend on him and his book. She couldn’t make any sense of him; he was illogical and unknowable and she loathed him for this.”  While these may seem like some harsh words towards Hippolyte, Marie is also thinking these at the only time she is alone and does’t have to see or think about him at all, when she is alone at her apartment. I think the fact that she cannot get him out of her head and is constantly thinking about him even though it is negative is a time where she uses all this negative to try and convince herself of her hatred towards him because she will not face the feelings that are beginning to grow. When she read’s Runford’s account of the Aurora’s this is the nail in the coffin. She could not fathom that she was so wrong about him to believe he made everything up it causes her to completely reevaluate herself and the first change I think she makes is being more optimistic and joining Hippolyte because it is something she would have said no to in a heartbeat if she was the old Marie. Because of this self confusion, although I think Marie does accept Hippolyte’s offer I DO NOT think it is a wise idea. Although Hippolyte could not realize Marie is at a vulnerable point because she is now on a new quest for meaning after all that has just happened and therefore very likely to jump into something so rash like joining Hippolyte to the Aurora Islands.

If there was a sequel as to what would happen next, it would involve a lot of fighting between Hippolyte and Marie once they got on the boat because they are still no where near compatible and he would drive her absolutely crazy. She may have been wrong to think he was lying but she was not wrong about his personality. Hippolyte is also probably very rusty on the little sailing he knows and he faced a lot of luck with his first journey that he may not get a second time.

 

If I had to pick an All-Star Cast for a Movie based on Hippolyte’s Island it would be…..

 

HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 05:  Actress Sandra Bullock attends the 2014 AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Jane Fonda at the Dolby Theatre on June 5, 2014 in Hollywood, California. Tribute show airing Saturday, June 14, 2014 at 9pm ET/PT on TNT.  (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for AFI)

Sandra Bullock as Marie Simplon

Kevin_James_2011_(Cropped)Kevin James as Jeremy Gould mcbride2Danny McBride as Peter

 

 

 

Gary_BuseyGary Busey as Jonathan Runford

 

Truman takes a sailing boat.

Jim Carrey as Hippolyte Webb

 

 

 

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A Reaction to the Erratic Life of Hippolyte Webb

Hippolyte is a man with big goals in life. He is also crazy enough to achieve those goals no matter who gets in his way or tries to talk him down. I think that is quality that more people should have and one that should be admired. Having the guts to go after what you want in life and not letting anyone affect you or knock you down is something I certainly with I had.

The ending of the book was frustrating. However, I believe that Marie did in fact join Hippolyte on a second journey to the Auroras. Her character starts out as a very uptight, extremely professional business woman but after working and spending time with Hippolyte, she becomes a different person. She becomes less of a conventional business woman and more of a Hippolyte. Her demeanor has changed in that she is less intimidating. She has become a person more like Hippolyte who is crazy enough to take risks.

Hippolytes first voyage to the Auroras

Hippolyte on his first voyage to the Auroras

Hippolyte and Marie on the Auroras

Hippolyte and Marie on one of the Aurora Islands (Ignore the bush because there was no tress or bushes on the islands)

 

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