Quote Analysis Flashcards
Explain how the following quote provides characterisation to the narrator.
“…awesome to watch and not much fun to be in” and the use of fishing-like imagery with “near perfect three-foot lines”
Anecdotal evidence, likens imagery to fishing.
How does Parett reveal the unpredictable nature of the ocean as an all-powerful force in the following quote:
“liquid mercury… The paddle was easy. The waves were easy. The ocean was at peace.”
Repetition of “easy” and serene scenery contradicts the storm that winter allegedly brang.
How is the idea that the ocean is an all-powerful force explored in the end of the novel in the quote:
“the water was calm, resting and waiting and letting them pass… Cloudy looked brand new. Just born”
Personifying the ocean as “calm, resting and waiting” signifies how it finally allows the characters to leave the island
How is Cloudy Bay described in the novel?
Characterised with “everything was clean and golden and crisp”, exuding in positive energy.
How does the novel delve into Miles’ psyche during the final events of the novel. Revealing how human experiences affect a character’s perspective.
Ambiguous whether they are dreams or actual memories of real events.
Miles dreams about his memory about Joe saving him from the river, which draws parallel of how Miles tries to save Harry in the ocean. His mother repeats “don’t got to sleep” representing his struggle to stay awake.
A loud “Where’s Harry” which may represent Miles falling asleep and sinking into the ocean.
How is Miles’ coming-of-age and desire for freedom expressed?
Himself admitting he “was going to get stuck. Stuck working for dad, stuck being responsible for Harry, stuck being responsible for everything.”, this repetition of “stuck”
Punctuates Miles’ feeling of entrapment on the island and of dad, allows reader to emphathise with a common desire of escapism.
How does the novel reveal the paradoxical nature of desires and freedom with the death of Harry?
Miles’ desire for freedom is granted with the death of Harry, allowing Miles to finally leave the island.
How is the opening line:
“Out past the shallows, past the sandy-bottomed bays, comes the dark water—black and cold and roaring. Rolling out an invisible path, a new line for them to follow. To somewhere warm.”
used in the end of the novel?
The line is reconfigured to reflect Miles’ coming-of-age throughout the novel and being free from the island. Cloaks the novel in optimism despite it’s tragic narrative
How does Parett communicate the familial conspiracy which plagues the novel?
Scene where Jeff kills the Mako Shark.
“three pups spilled out; two dead and half eaten, the other trying to swim in it’s mother’s blood…”
The still alive pup could represent Harry as he’s the only one of the brothers with any innocence left.
“stabbed (the baby shark) through the head.”
Possibly foreshadowing Harry’s untimely death during the novel’s climax
How does the incapacitation of Martin reveal the familial conspiracy which plagues the novel?
Represents the death of the brother’s mother, the only thing holding Dad and Jeff’s behaviour back.
How is the relationship between Miles and Harry conveyed in the beginning of the novel?
Harry’s excitement and innocence in.
“I’ve got you a Cradbury’s bag, 𝘈 𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘺’𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘨!”
Contrasted with Miles’ newfound cynicism.
“You’re lucky you get seasick.”
How is the shark-tooth necklace used as a symbol of truth.
Connected to Uncle Nick, Dad’s reaction of shock in “It’s his.” reveals the lie about Mum and Nick’s love affair.
How is the landscape in Past the Shallows reflective of Dad’s characterisation?
“Battered cliffs, broken rocky beachers,
caves well worn into the rock”
Creating a sense of escalating dilemmas that ensures readers grasp the scale of the paternal toxicity.
How is it conveyed that Dad’s attributes are within Miles and how is it subverted.
Extended metaphor of water in the
anadiplosis.
“Water that was always there. It would be there always, right inside him,”
Challenges masculine notion that Miles will mimic Dad’s violent response to pain.
“The water rushes past… and no one can touch you,”
How is Dad’s moral dis-allusion conveyed in the novel?
The antithetical anaphora
‘Yelling at them. Yelling at no one,”
Emphasises the uselessness in his abusive coping mechanisms.
