Past the Shallows Essay
Past the Shallows, by Favel Parrett, is a touching story of two brothers in a small town by the ocean. The brothers, Miles and Harry, have grown up be the ocean but it plays a very different part in both of their lives. The boys are constantly at the mercy of their fathers mood which can change as quick as the ocean can. Even though Harry finds joy in small treasures and Miles finds joy in surfing there is always the underlying presence of poverty and desperation. Parrett emphasises this by writing from the perspective of Miles and Harry and shows the extent people will go under these circumstances.
Miles and Harry spend a lot of their time in the family home therefore are many character interactions that manly feature …show more content…
His decision to start drinking is shown by “...Jeff and Dad had been drinking for two days (141)”. This decision not only affects Miles and Harry in a very negative way it also uses valuable money that could be used to buy food. Dad might of started drinking when the family started to become poor and this action show that the father is trying escape his circumstances without considering what would happen to MIles and Harry. Another decision that the father makes is to not regularly order food this can be seen in “There was still no bread...Dad ordered bread when he remembered it (105)” by doing this he as subjected his children to be in a constant state of hunger. Parrett using these situations with Miles and his father helps convey the ideas of poverty and …show more content…
Dad forces Miles to work on the boat illegally and since Miles is only 13 to have a huge amount of responsibility he is desperate to not make a mistake. Dad makes the decision to fish for abalone in protected areas. This is because there is not enough abalone in legal areas and from this dad makes the decision to participate in illegal action. Parrett shows this in the quote “We’re at the Witches… Please!...These are protected waters, you idiot! (210)”. Dad is willing to engage in extremely risky behavior of not only force Miles to work on the boat but he also fishes in protected water to make money. Dad feels that he has to participate in these actions because it is the only option left for him. Parrett is showing that people who are very desperate will make decisions that they would not normally make to try and save themselves.
A contrast to dad and his decisions is Mr Roberts and his actions. “..since he got rich off abalone...He’d started like all of them. He’d started back when dad and Nick had (75)” this quote show that Mr Roberts had started off abalone fishing like dad and Nick but he he made the decision early to sell his abalone to Hobert. Parrett uses this to show that desperation is not the only result in the town. It also shows that people don’t always react badly in desperate situations because Mr Roberts made a different choice and he is successful
Past the Shallows, by Favel Parrett, is a touching story of two brothers in a small town by the ocean. The brothers, Miles and Harry, have grown up be the ocean but it plays a very different part in both of their lives. The boys are constantly at the mercy of their fathers mood which can change as quick as the ocean can. Even though Harry finds joy in small treasures and Miles finds joy in surfing there is always the underlying presence of poverty and desperation. Parrett emphasises this by writing from the perspective of Miles and Harry and shows the extent people will go under these circumstances.
Miles and Harry spend a lot of their time in the family home therefore are many character interactions that manly feature …show more content…
His decision to start drinking is shown by “...Jeff and Dad had been drinking for two days (141)”. This decision not only affects Miles and Harry in a very negative way it also uses valuable money that could be used to buy food. Dad might of started drinking when the family started to become poor and this action show that the father is trying escape his circumstances without considering what would happen to MIles and Harry. Another decision that the father makes is to not regularly order food this can be seen in “There was still no bread...Dad ordered bread when he remembered it (105)” by doing this he as subjected his children to be in a constant state of hunger. Parrett using these situations with Miles and his father helps convey the ideas of poverty and …show more content…
Dad forces Miles to work on the boat illegally and since Miles is only 13 to have a huge amount of responsibility he is desperate to not make a mistake. Dad makes the decision to fish for abalone in protected areas. This is because there is not enough abalone in legal areas and from this dad makes the decision to participate in illegal action. Parrett shows this in the quote “We’re at the Witches… Please!...These are protected waters, you idiot! (210)”. Dad is willing to engage in extremely risky behavior of not only force Miles to work on the boat but he also fishes in protected water to make money. Dad feels that he has to participate in these actions because it is the only option left for him. Parrett is showing that people who are very desperate will make decisions that they would not normally make to try and save themselves.
A contrast to dad and his decisions is Mr Roberts and his actions. “..since he got rich off abalone...He’d started like all of them. He’d started back when dad and Nick had (75)” this quote show that Mr Roberts had started off abalone fishing like dad and Nick but he he made the decision early to sell his abalone to Hobert. Parrett uses this to show that desperation is not the only result in the town. It also shows that people don’t always react badly in desperate situations because Mr Roberts made a different choice and he is successful