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Chapter 23
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
Miles and Harry stay out of the house past midnight to avoid Dad and Jeff, who have been drinking for two days straight. Back in their bedroom, Harry needs to use the bathroom but is afraid to cross Dad and Jeff’s path in the living room. He ducks out quickly in hopes that they will not notice him.
Harry’s fear to use the bathroom in his own house indicates just how severe Dad’s addiction has become under the influence of Jeff, as the little boy risks abuse just by crossing their paths.
Themes
As Harry passes into the kitchen, Jeff calls him “the littlest retard” and tells him to have a drink. Harry assumes that Jeff is offering him is a glass of Coke but realizes it is alcohol. Dad tells Harry to drink it anyway as Jeff traps the little boy in a headlock. Miles dashes out of their bedroom to defend his brother but Jeff pushes the glass of whiskey against Harry’s mouth and forces him to drink.
Dad’s alcoholism has progressed to the point that he has lost all sense of what it means to be a father. He has begun to emulate Jeff’s disturbing behavior, which Martin previously warned Miles about. Rather than defending Harry against Jeff, Dad forfeits all responsibility and encourages the violence against his son.
Themes
Miles tries to lunge at Jeff, but Jeff trips him and his head crashes into the coffee table. Miles feels blood running into his eye socket and Jeff steps on his hand, crushing it with his heavy boot. He cries out for Dad’s help, but his father does not respond.
Miles’s unflinching loyalty for his brother is a stark contrast to Dad’s complacency. Whereas Dad is indifferent to Jeff’s violence, Miles is willing to put himself in harm’s way to defend his little brother.
Themes
Harry, sick from the whiskey, vomits on Jeff’s arm that is still holding him in a headlock. The distraction frees Miles’s hand from under Jeff’s foot. Dad stands up and focuses on Miles, giving his son the same look that he gave Joe six years ago on the night he broke Joe’s arm. Dad had told Joe that he was “just like him” and Joe had replied, “I’m glad,” prompting Dad to throw him across the kitchen. That was the last night Joe ever spent in Dad’s house, going to live with Granddad instead.
Based on Miles’s memory of Dad breaking Joe’s arm, it is clear that their father’s descent into alcoholism has been long and arduous. Joe’s reasoning for going to live with Granddad is revealed, further solidifying the brothers’ grandfather as a stand-in father figure amidst Dad’s violent abuse. It is unclear who Dad was referring to when he told Joe that he was “just like him,” but it is clear that there are secrets being kept in the Curren family and that Dad harbors inexplicable, destructive blame toward Joe.
Themes
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Miles looks down at the bloodstains on the carpet as the wound on his head continues dripping. Dad and Jeff both seem to lose interest and slump back down into their respective seats, and Miles takes the opportunity to escape with Harry out their bedroom window. As they run away from the house and into the woods, they hear Dad angrily yelling “I never wanted you.”
Again, Dad seems to blame his sons for the pain that tortures him and drives him to drink. He confirms that he has no desire to be a father and clearly does not feel any sense of responsibility for Harry and Miles.
Themes
Miles and Harry continue to run away from Dad’s house along the riverbank. Harry suggests that they go to George Fuller’s shack and Miles incredulously asks how Harry knows the man. Harry explains that he has been visiting George to play with Jake, and that George had been friends with Granddad and knew Mum when she was young. Miles at first rejects Harry’s idea to go to George’s house but does not know where else to go since Joe is gone. Harry pats Miles’s shoulder and assures him that they will be all right. Eventually Miles gives in and allows his little brother to lead him to George’s.
In lieu of a kind, caring father, Miles and Harry are forced to rely on each other. They find solidarity and comfort in each other’s company as they cope with the horrific abuse they just suffered. Harry’s suggestion that they stay with George shows just how integral a role the old man has come to play in the little boy’s life. Harry essentially views George as a grandfather to whom he can turn in times of trouble.
Themes
