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Chapter 30
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
Running down the familiar path to George Fuller’s house, Harry is excited to give George the tea he bought for him and have lunch in the warm shack. But when he arrives at the house, George and Jake are nowhere to be found. The house feels to Harry as if it has been empty for a long time and will be forever, and he worries that he might never see his friends again.
Harry immediately jumps to the conclusion that George and Jake have left permanently, suggesting that the little boy does not feel secure even in his closest relationships. The tragic deaths of Mum, Uncle Nick, and Granddad have made Harry somewhat paranoid over losing other loved ones in his life.
Themes
Harry dismisses his own worry as he sees George’s pipe, Jake’s blanket, and their other belongings around the house. He thinks that George is probably down at the jetty and will be back soon. In the meantime, Harry decides to take some of the kindling from outside and build a fire in George’s wood heater. He reflects on the times he tried to help Miles chop kindling with a hatchet and how useless he would feel when his brother seemed disappointed in his abilities.
Miles and Harry clearly adore each other, but Harry is still worried that he does not live up to his older brother’s expectations. This is similar to Miles’s relationship with Joe, as Miles often feels inferior in his older brother’s shadow. Despite these anxieties, the brothers still find warmth and security in one another.
Themes
After piling the kindling and some newspaper in the wood heater, Harry sweeps the floor, sets the tea on the table, and sits waiting for George and Jake. He looks forward to lighting the fire and helping George carry his fishing gear inside. Sitting at the table, Harry feels the framed photograph of George’s brother Billy “staring” at him as he eats some candy. George had told him about how Billy was a soldier who went missing in a war and never came home. After hearing this story, Harry had walked to the town war memorial on his own and found Billy’s name.
Billy’s disappearance may partially explain why George was so open to befriending Harry when the little boy first came to his shack. The loss of his younger brother likely created a lasting a void in George’s life—one that he was glad to fill with Harry’s company. The time George spends with Harry is an outlet for him to express the brotherly love that was taken away from him when Billy went missing, which indicates that brotherly love and parental love, though different, share some important similarities.
Themes
Looking at the photo of Billy, Harry thinks of how he would never feel right again if anything ever happened to Miles. Still sitting at the table, Harry begins to drift off to sleep and wishes that he had the company of his brother or George. When he wakes, it is late, and he decides to give up on waiting for George. Harry runs out of the house toward the road and knows that George will be glad he was there when he sees the firewood in the heater and the tea on the table.
Though Harry is young and relatively naïve, the painful losses of his loved ones have given him a deep awareness of life’s fragility. He is able to recognize the importance of his relationship with Miles, as their bond is what allows him to feel safe and motivates him to persevere in the face of hardship.
Themes
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