I don't believe in blaming inanimate objects for anything.
Without the oceans there would be no life on Earth.
Fascinations breeds preparedness, and preparedness, survival.
He would have lied to himself as facilely as an alcoholic lies to himself to justify the 10 a.m. tumbler of vodka : it may be early here, but in Baghdad it's almost evening.
I know now that the mythic monster I created was largely a fiction.
The fish was an enemy. It had come upon the community and killed two men, a woman, and a child. The people of Amity would demand the death of the fish. They would need to see it dead before they could feel secure enough to resume their normal lives.