Because Ged discovers the shadow’s name is his own, he is able to absorb and accept the shadow (representing his negative qualities and inner demons) and become one with it, and we see that accepting your inner demons and imperfections is the way to achieve wholeness. The setting of the atonement represents the meeting of Ged and his shadow because of its “dark sky [and] dry unreal ground that went on and on into gathering darkness all around the boat as far as the eye could see” (pages 248-249). Ged is the sand because dry sand is light, and the shadow is the sky because both are dark. After Ged absorbs the shadow and the two become one, the island disappears. In its place, the ocean appears. We see that this ocean represents both, as exhibited
