Blueback

by

Tim Winton

The Peppermint Tree Symbol Analysis

The Peppermint Tree Symbol Icon

The peppermint tree by the orchard near Abel’s house is special to Abel and his mother Dora because it symbolizes Abel’s father. Abel’s father died when Abel was only two years old, but the tree signifies that Abel’s father is still present in Abel and Dora’s lives because his memory lives on. The peppermint tree is connected to Abel’s father because Dora has transformed it into a shrine for him. She keeps a candle, pearl shells, and driftwood carvings on the deep fork in the tree, and she spends time with the tree whenever she wants to remember Abel’s father. As a shrine, the peppermint tree honors Abel’s father’s memory and attests to Dora’s lasting love for her husband. Moreover, the tree visibly demonstrates that Abel’s father’s memory doesn’t exist statically only in Abel’s and Dora’s heads. Instead, his memory endures outside of Abel and Dora as well, in their home and in the living, growing nature that surrounds them.

To Abel, the peppermint tree represents his father even more closely. Before Abel leaves Longboat Bay for his first semester of high school in a different town, he embraces the peppermint tree. Affectionately, he presses “his cheek against the rough bark,” hugging the tree as if, by doing so, he can also hug his father. By saying goodbye to his father in this way, Abel shows that the tree doesn’t just hold his father’s memory but also tangibly represents his father himself. Therefore, the peppermint tree symbolizes Abel’s father, who lives on even after death through nature in Longboat Bay and through the strength of Dora’s and Abel’s love. 

The Peppermint Tree Quotes in Blueback

The Blueback quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Peppermint Tree. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Nature, Belonging, and Conservation Theme Icon
).
Chapter 14 Quotes

One afternoon [Abel] walked up past the orchard to the peppermint tree and stood there a long time. He thought about his father and felt close to his memory there. He put his cheek against the rough bark the way he had as a boy and hugged the thick trunk.

Related Characters: Abel Jackson, Dora Jackson (Abel’s Mother), Abel’s Father
Related Symbols: The Peppermint Tree
Page Number: 135
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Peppermint Tree Symbol Timeline in Blueback

The timeline below shows where the symbol The Peppermint Tree appears in Blueback. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
Family and Love Theme Icon
The Ocean and Life’s Mysteries Theme Icon
...a memory of his father, too. She keeps a shrine to Abel’s father in a peppermint tree near the orchard. Abel’s mother often stays by the tree for hours, remembering her husband. (full context)
Chapter 5
Nature, Belonging, and Conservation Theme Icon
Family and Love Theme Icon
Time, Change, and Continuity Theme Icon
...place is his whole life, and he doesn’t want to leave. Abel goes to the peppermint tree and places a piece of white coral on the shrine to his father. Abel embraces... (full context)
Chapter 14
Family and Love Theme Icon
...which has become run-down in his absence. One day, he stands in front of the peppermint tree and feels close to his father’s memory. He hugs the tree just as he did... (full context)
Nature, Belonging, and Conservation Theme Icon
Family and Love Theme Icon
Time, Change, and Continuity Theme Icon
...marine reserve in Longboat Bay. When Dora recovers more of her strength, she visits the peppermint tree . Meanwhile, Abel and Stella live and work happily at home. Soon, their daughter is... (full context)