Chapter 3 of Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane really, for lack of a better word, was a mindfuck for me just in terms of content. We, as the readers, know that there’s something weird/mystical about the Hempstock family, but at this point, I think that they might be witches or part-fae or something. It’s a small craft element, but the way that Gaiman is slowly feeding us more and more confusing information about the Hempstocks just builds the tension up really well. Foreshadowing, I feel, is a prominent craft element within this chapter. The next few lines might be completely wrong, given the fact that I haven’t finished the novella and that some of the things that I think are foreshadowing might not actually be foreshadowing. The first instance was at the beginning of the chapter, where the narrator talks about replacing the white Mini for the black Rover. Normally, when Gaiman has brought up an object or an animal, it tends to have a major impact on the growth of the narrator. This, however, just seemed to be an introduction to the letter event. It seems odd to me, that Gaiman would be so specific with the black Rover, only to use it as a means of introducing a letter and a major plot point. I feel like it might come up in the future, though I might be looking too much into this. On page 29, the narrator sees Lettie and describes her as “[looking] as if she had been waiting for a hundred years and could wait for another hundred”. This foreshadows the conversation they have later about how long Lettie has been eleven for. These two events/conversations mark a huge character plot point of the Hempstocks and it is sure to come up again. There are so many lines in this chapter that reveal things about different characters, but one in particular stood out to me. On page 32, when Old Mrs. Hempstock tells the narrator about seeing electrons, the narrator says, “You must have very good eyesight,” and then promptly tells the reader that he was impressed by her abilities. This line is humorous, but also reminds the reader that the narrator is only seven. The things that he’s relating are from a long time ago, back when things didn’t make much sense, especially when supernatural events start happening. Another line that reminds us of his age is on page 26, where he says that he’d like to buy a Batcave. It’s almost like Gaiman is dropping little reminders of the narrator’s innocence before something terrible happens. I had a lot of questions during this chapter, many plot related, many Hempstock related, though one of my biggest questions revolved around the narrator’s nightmare. I understand that he never had many friends, as shown in chapters 1 and 2 with no one attending his birthday party, so when his bullies chase him, it makes sense. I’m confused about his grandfather’s involvement within the dream. It’ll definitely come back up to “haunt” us, but why was the grandfather the one to show the silver shilling down the narrator’s throat? It seems to be a pivotal moment within the narrative, and assigning a close family member to inflict pain, intentional or not, is a pretty intentional choice.