to sell a horse Bartley knows he must go to the mainland by crossing the sea to sell the horse otherwise his family will starve Maurya does not want her son to go to the sea in bad weather However Bartley explains he must go as no boats will go in two weeks or more Bartley says This is the one boat going for two weeks or beyond it This line gives us a clear idea of how difficult the islanders' life is In another scene Cathleen tells Nora to give Bartley the rope for his journey out to sea Nora says their pig was trying to eat the rope I hung it up this morning for the pig with black feet was eating it The fact that the pig was trying to eat the rope suggests how poor the family is they have no food for themselves and definitely no leftover food to feed the animals Dependence on the Sea The islanders are deeply connected to the sea The sea provides them with their livelihood Fishing and trading are the main ways to earn money The sea however is unpredictable and dangerous It has taken the lives of Maurya s husband father-in-law and five sons Maurya says They re all gone now and there isn t anything more the sea can do to me This shows how the sea dominates the lives of the islanders Faith and Superstition Religion plays a central role in the lives of the islanders They pray for protection and blessings However the islanders faith in God is mixed with superstition They believe in good omens and bad omens For instance Maurya sees omens of death She sees a vision of Michael s ghost riding behind Bartley on a gray pony The family believes this vision predicts Bartley s death as Cathleen says It's destroyed we are from this day It's destroyed surely This shows how the islanders try to make sense of their losses through superstitious beliefs The islanders gradually lose faith in God Despite their prayers they feel abandoned by God The local priest assures that God will not take away Maurya s last living son Nora recalls the priest s words The Almighty God won t leave her destitute with no son living However this assurance feels hollow when Bartley dies The sea s power is portrayed as greater than God s protection Community and Survival The islanders rely on each other for emotional and practical support When Bartley s body is brought home the neighbors help with the funeral preparations An old man agrees to make the coffin This sense of community provides some comfort in their grief In conclusion Riders to the Sea paints a powerful picture of the islanders lives poverty full of struggle loss and resilience The sea while essential for their survival is also their greatest enemy The blending of faith and superstition reflects their attempt to find meaning in their suffering