The author is using a type of figurative language called personification. Personification is when you give human characteristics or traits to something that is non human. When the author writes, "<span>the sea licked greedy lips in the shadows." the author is giving the sea human characteristics. The sea does not actually have lips.</span>
the island is the symbol for utopia if we are talking about the same thing
I would say "the town is 15 miles further"
<span>traditional values versus contemporary values
loyalty to family versus loyalty to the state
maternal instincts versus paternal instincts
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