The protagonist in The Sea is not a simple fellow, however - I assume the simple prose is used to compare the hollowshell that grief has made of Max Morden with the naive beauty of the young boy he once was.
You could throw it like a small javelin, or stab it into a piece of steak instead of using a fork, or you might take the ink cartridge out of the pen and fill the hollowshell with sand (just because you like sand).
