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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
The brothers’ Aunty Jean takes Harry to a boat race festival, although Harry wishes that Joe would take him instead. The car ride makes Harry uneasy and carsick, so he tries to focus on the radio. They arrive at the boat races in Fern Tree and Harry marvels at the fair rides and game stalls set up to celebrate the boat races.
Fern Tree is a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania’s capital city. The change in scenery from small-town Bruny Island to a large city leaves an impressive impact on Harry as he takes in this exciting new environment. His wish to have Joe accompany reflects their close brotherly bond.
Themes
Harry longs to go on a ride called the Gee Whizzer but knows that Aunty Jean will not want to accompany him. Instead, he tries a game involving throwing coins into glass bottles. Harry gets upset when the man running the stall tells him that his winning toss did not count because it bounced off another bottle. Embarrassed, he walks away from the stall and happens to find a twenty-dollar bill on the ground. Aunty Jean tells him to pocket the money before someone claims that they dropped it.
Harry’s reluctance to be at the fair with Aunty Jean, as opposed to his brothers or friends, suggests that he is dissatisfied with his aunt as a caregiver. Although Jean should presumably set a responsible example for Harry, she encourages her nephew to take money that doesn’t belong to him. This moment subtly suggests that Aunty Jean may have an ingrained sense of entitlement.
Themes
After Harry takes the money, he fantasizes about the goodie bags he will spend it on as he reluctantly accompanies Aunty Jean to a wood-chopping competition at the fair. The noise and commotion of the event make Harry feels anxious and nauseous, so Aunty Jean allows him to leave for some fresh air. Able to relax and enjoy himself away from the crowd, Harry decides to spend all but $4.50 of the twenty dollars on goodie bags and treats for Miles, his friend Stuart, and himself.
Harry’s anxious reaction to the wood-chopping competition further shows that he is out of his element amidst the unfamiliar sights and sounds of a festival in a big city. This sensitivity seems to be an innate quality that also makes Harry unusually thoughtful and selfless, preferring to spend his money on his brother and friend rather than saving it all for himself.
Themes
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On the way back to the wood-chopping competition, Harry stops by an animal show and sees a Best in Show display of a mother goat and her babies. He remembers a past year coming to the show with Mum when they had played with baby goats and laughed. The man running the stall offers to let Harry hold one, but he declines.
This passage suggests that Mum is inexplicably absent in the Curren brothers’ lives, since she was the one to bring Harry to the festival in previous years. Beyond this implied trauma, Harry’s memory of playing with the baby goats is further evidence of his intrinsic love of animals and nature.
Themes
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