Blueback Themes

In Blueback, a story set on the coast of Western Australia in the late 20th century, the protagonist Abel Jackson feels a deep connection to his home, Longboat Bay. He’s spent his whole life diving in the bay, so he feels especially connected to the sea. With such a strong attachment to Longboat Bay and the ocean, Abel never wants to leave home. When he has to attend high school farther inland, Abel worries…

Living in Longboat Bay with his mother, Abel Jackson is sometimes lonely. At 10 years old, he decides he wants to have a big family in the future, craving the companionship and fun that such a life might bring. In this way, Abel positions family as a solution to the problem of loneliness, and also as a source of happiness. Then, when he starts attending high school away from home, he worries that his…

Throughout his life, Abel Jackson is curious about the ocean. He often wonders what fish think and remember since they can’t communicate through human language. Sometimes, Abel believes that if his friend Blueback—a blue groper fish—could speak, he could reveal all “the secrets of the sea.” Abel also thinks of the ocean as a puzzle he wants to solve. This sense of mystery surrounding the ocean motivates Abel to become a marine biologist. However…

At the beginning of Blueback, Abel Jackson is a 10-year-old boy who goes to school when he’s not diving in Longboat Bay or helping his mother take care of the land they live on. By the end of the novel, Abel has passed his 32nd birthday and become a marine biologist, husband, and father. While Abel grows up and experiences different changes throughout his life, Longboat Bay also changes alongside him. As a story…