Many great literary journeys, from Noah’s Ark to Life of Pi, feature a boat. Annie Proulx’s The Shipping News is no exception, with boats playing a key role throughout Quoyle’s journey. The boat is a barrier, standing between Quoyle and a successful relationship with Wavey Prowse. Quoyle’s incapacity and fear with regard to boats prevent him from embracing his surroundings. Finally, Quoyle’s lack of comprehension regarding the culture of boats celebrated by his co-workers leads to a lack of connection with his fellow man. In Annie Proulx’s The Shipping News, boats represent the obstacles and struggles Quoyle faces in his journey to self-improvement and success. The boat presents itself to Quoyle as an obstacle to his attainment of
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The other men in Quoyle’s office continually pester him about his uncompromising viewpoint on the subject of boat ownership, as they do not understand his reluctance. Quoyle “pretend[s] he [does] not hear[]” when his co-worker Billy inquires, “‘Why don’t you get a boat Quoyle?’” (75). Quoyle is unable to carry on a simple conversation with the people he works with for fear that the dreaded boat will be mentioned, his fear will be discovered, and he will be alienated by these maritime men for whom boats are joy and salvation. Ironically, it is the acquisition of a boat that further rattles Quoyle’s relationship with his colleagues. On seeing Quoyle’s impromptu purchase, Billy Pretty exclaims that, “Not only is it no good for nothing, but it makes you cry to look at it” (88). Quoyle’s incomprehension of boats shames him in the minds of his co-workers, and their chastising makes him feel stupid and useless. Quoyle’s complete failure to comprehend and embrace the boat as a means of entertainment as well as transportation puts an almost unbridgeable gap between him and the men with whom he
The other men in Quoyle’s office continually pester him about his uncompromising viewpoint on the subject of boat ownership, as they do not understand his reluctance. Quoyle “pretend[s] he [does] not hear[]” when his co-worker Billy inquires, “‘Why don’t you get a boat Quoyle?’” (75). Quoyle is unable to carry on a simple conversation with the people he works with for fear that the dreaded boat will be mentioned, his fear will be discovered, and he will be alienated by these maritime men for whom boats are joy and salvation. Ironically, it is the acquisition of a boat that further rattles Quoyle’s relationship with his colleagues. On seeing Quoyle’s impromptu purchase, Billy Pretty exclaims that, “Not only is it no good for nothing, but it makes you cry to look at it” (88). Quoyle’s incomprehension of boats shames him in the minds of his co-workers, and their chastising makes him feel stupid and useless. Quoyle’s complete failure to comprehend and embrace the boat as a means of entertainment as well as transportation puts an almost unbridgeable gap between him and the men with whom he