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Chapter 16
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Past the Shallows, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Brotherhood, Loyalty, and Hardship
Addiction and Abuse
Tragedy and Blame
Father Figures and Responsibility
The Duality of Nature
Summary
Analysis
One day while Miles and Dad are working on the fishing boat, Harry goes to visit George Fuller. George is not home when he arrives at the shack, so Harry decides to look around the property for him. Finally, he hears Jake and is lead down to the bay by the sound of the dog’s bark. George climbs into his dinghy boat and invites Harry to come along, but the young boy is afraid of the water and gets seasick easily.
Though Harry has come to trust George and enjoys the old man’s company, his phobia of the water makes him hesitant to go out on the boat. This mindset contrasts with the obligatory routine of Dad and Miles, who must brave the dangerous ocean on a daily basis in order to earn a living.
Themes
Harry remembers the first time he went out on Dad’s fishing boat. Harry clung to the railing and threw up from the motion of the boat, and Uncle Nick joked that he would never be a fisherman. George decides not to go out in the dinghy, after all, and instead teaches Harry how to fish.
Harry’s relationship with nature again contrasts with how his family views the ocean. Whereas the water is a source of anxiety and physical illness for Harry, it provides his male elders with their livelihood and sense of purpose. These difference perspectives highlight the ocean’s inherent duality.
Themes
Harry is reluctant to join George because he is afraid of breaking the rod or embarrassing himself. Despite being raised by a family of abalone fisherman, no one has ever taught him how to fish. He takes a rod but hopes that he will not catch anything. When a fish does bite his line, Harry is afraid, but George helps him reel it in.
Harry’s ignorance of fishing shows the lack of a strong male role model in his life. Despite abalone fishing being his family’s multigenerational vocation, no one has ever taken the initiative to teach him. George, in this instance, fills in as a surrogate father figure and gently encourages Harry to face his fear of the water.
Themes
George catches four more fish while Harry is content to hold onto his own fishing rod and look out at the water while George hums songs. Amidst this peace, Harry understands for the first time why Joe and Miles like to fish. Harry believes that if Granddad were still alive, he would have taken him fishing when he was old enough. Back at the shack, George makes a meal out of their catch and Harry thinks that the fish is the most delicious thing he has ever tasted.
Experiencing the serenity of fishing with George, Harry is able to understand the sense of peace, freedom, and escape that Miles and Joe find in their outdoor adventures together. Again, Dad’s incompetence coupled with the loss of Uncle Nick and Granddad have left Harry without a father figure, a role that George is content to fill for his young friend.
Themes
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