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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
Miles wakes up to find Dad sitting at the end of Harry’s bed. It is still pitch-black outside, but he tells the boys to get up and Miles quickly gets dressed and goes out into the living room where Dad is waiting. His father asks where Harry is, and Miles replies that he is still sleeping. Dad goes back into the bedroom, turns on the lights, and rips the duvet off of Harry, repeating his command to get up.
Dad has not had a change of heart since finding Harry alone in the middle of the road. He clearly does not see the error of his ways and still refuses to accept his responsibility as a father, hence his decision to wake up his young son at an unreasonable hour.
Themes
Miles tells a groggy Harry that he thinks he will have to come out on the fishing boat with them today. He gathers warm clothes for Harry as his little brother begs him to convince Dad not to make him go on the boat because he is afraid of the water and prone to seasickness. Miles assures him it will be okay and gives him his own jacket when Harry starts to cry that he left his parka at Stuart’s house.
As usual, Miles is forced to step in as a parental figure for Harry as Dad leaves the boys alone to get themselves dressed and ready. Whereas working on the boat is a normal routine for Miles, the mere thought of the ocean petrifies Harry, showing the very different relationships the two brothers have with the water. Harry’s terror here also reinforces the idea that nature can be unpredictable and violent, even though it’s also a supportive force in both boys’ lives.
Themes
Miles gives Harry the shark tooth he found in Mum’s car seat for good luck. He notices how young and small Harry looks and reflects on when his little brother was a baby, musing that something about Harry made Miles feel compelled to take care of him.
Miles is forced to take on an unfair level of responsibility for Harry, but he does not mind helping to raise him. Their brotherly bond makes Miles feel as though he is being called to take care of Harry, and fulfilling that duty imbues him with a sense of purpose.
Themes
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The boys hurry outside into the rain and violent wind, but Harry hesitates outside the door of Dad’s pickup truck. He suggests that he stay behind but Dad orders him to “get in the bloody car.” As they drive to the wharf, Miles wonders how long Dad had been waiting in their bedroom at the foot of his brother’s bed. Harry suddenly begins to hiccup until Dad slams the horn with his fist and yells at him. Terrified, Harry squeezes close to Miles and stays quiet for the rest of the drive.
The violent storm outside parallels Dad’s volatile abuse—just as Harry and Miles are forced to endure their father’s mistreatment, they will have to brave this brutal winter swell. The different roles that Dad and Miles play in Harry’s life are especially clear here, as Harry leans on his brother (literally) for comfort while Dad forces them into dangerous weather and lashes out in anger.
Themes
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It is not clear exactly why Dad and Jeff decide to go out on the water in the middle of a raging storm, nor why Miles and Harry need to come along. This reflects Jeff and Dad’s irresponsibility and impulsivity, as they are willing to risk the boys’ lives and their own safety without clear rhyme or reason, even though they know how unpredictable the ocean can be.
Themes
Miles, Harry, Dad, and Jeff reach the fishing boat and seem to be inside a “bubble of fluorescent light” that bounces off the deck as they move away from land. Jeff comments to Harry that he will have to be tied up on the outside of the boat’s railings if he gets seasick and that he had better hold on tight. Miles tries to comfort his little brother, telling him to focus on the stars to take his mind off the water.
Miles, like Harry, is terrified of deep water, but he puts his own anxieties aside to focus on easing his brother’s nerves. His advice to focus on the stars shows that nature can simultaneously be a source of both fear and comfort. At the same time, the mention of light as a protective force recalls the boys’ mother and their struggle to regain some semblance of the security they felt when she was alive.
Themes
As the sun rises, Miles can see that they are headed toward the three figures of The Last Islands on the horizon. Noticing the rough cliffs and rocky beaches, he feels that they are moving toward “the end of the earth.” Dad anchors the boat on the side of the Flat Witch, the smallest of the three islands. While Dad and Jeff dive for abalone, Miles tells Harry a folktale about a lady who supposedly fled society to live in the wilderness on Flat Witch. He muses that there was enough shellfish for a person to survive on the rustic island. Harry remarks that the lady “must have just had enough of everything.”
The intimidating landscape of The Last Islands seems otherworldly in its grandeur, but Miles and Harry feel a sense of freedom rather than fear as they gaze out at the coastline. The abuse they suffer from Dad allows them to commiserate with the lady who fled society, understanding that nature, while brutal, can offer a complete break from society and its associated hardships. This realization foreshadows a possible escape for Miles and Harry.
Themes
Miles’s story is interrupted by the sound of metal screeching and the smell of smoke. Miles realizes that the air pumps and engine on the boat have stopped, meaning that Dad and Jeff’s air supply has been cut off. He tries and fails to start the boat and rips the red-hot metal cover off of the engine, feeling his skin burn and blister. Realizing that the air supply has been cut off for at least sixty seconds, Miles is still unable to start the engine or the emergency generator for the air pumps.
Though Dad and Jeff have hurt Miles terribly, he does not let blame consume him. Rather than taking the opportunity to enact revenge, Miles still has inherent respect for Dad and Jeff’s lives and desperately scrambles to save them, even severely burning his hands in an attempt to start the engine.
Themes
Feeling helpless, Miles realizes that there is nothing he can do to save Dad and Jeff. He considers fleeing the boat and swimming for land because he knows Dad and Jeff will blame him for the engine if they are able to come back up alive. But Miles knows that he and Harry would be swept away by the strong current and hurled against the rocks if they jumped overboard. Distraught, Miles throws up over the side of the boat while Harry tugs on his arm, telling him, “it’s Dad.”
Having already lost Mum, Uncle Nick, and Granddad, the thought of Dad drowning overwhelms Miles. His distress shows that, despite Dad’s cruelty, he still cares for his father and does not allow resentment to cloud his feelings. Dad, by contrast, would undoubtedly blame Miles for the engine failing, and that blame would only make a bad situation more destructive still.
Themes
