Schumacher Post 2

The reason Juan has this dream is that he is experiencing subconscious restlessness. This long journey is very stressful for him, and in his sleep, he tries to escape that. In the passage from the book, it says "the wind stoked the water the way a man caresses a woman," and this represents his long to see Carmen. He is the wind, and she is the water. The caressing also symbolizes his wish for the water to be calm, and he dreams that only soft ripples disturb the surface. He misses his friends, who were lost in the ocean, and he flies over the water to look for them. This gentle dream helps him to calm down, but he wakes up too soon, meaning even in his deep sleep, as he tries to escape his troubles, the reality of his situation forces him to wake up, and face the pain again.