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Billy Gibson
Mum’s sister and May’s aunt, who takes in May and Billy after Mum commits suicide. While Aunty is loving and affectionate, she’s not a very reliable caretaker. She’s addicted to drinking and gambling, and often vanishes to the casinos or spends the family’s little money on her addictions. Aunty reflects the substance abuse that characterizes many Aboriginal communities, largely due to a long history of colonial mistreatment and the current lack of opportunity within Anglo-Australian society. It’s partly to escape the instability of family life with Aunty that May leaves home in search of more functional relatives. However, as she matures throughout the novel, May learns to appreciate Aunty despite her weaknesses. When she finally returns home and consoles Aunty about her imminent eviction, May emerges as the caretaker of the person who once took care of her, showing her renewed devotion to her family.
Aunty Quotes in Swallow the Air
The Swallow the Air quotes below are all either spoken by Aunty or refer to Aunty. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
20. Home
Quotes
My mother knows that I am home, at the water I am always home. Aunty and my brother, we are from the same people, we are of the Wiradjuri nation, hard water. We are of the river country, and we have flowed down the rivers to estuaries to oceans.
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An excavator starts its smothering engine over the torrent of each barrel. Over the sun. Over the blue. And I wonder, if we stand here, if we stay, if they stop digging up Aunty’s backyard, stop digging up a mother’s memory, stop digging up our people, maybe then, we’ll all stop crying.
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Get the entire Swallow the Air LitChart as a printable PDF.
Aunty Quotes in Swallow the Air
The Swallow the Air quotes below are all either spoken by Aunty or refer to Aunty. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
20. Home
Quotes
My mother knows that I am home, at the water I am always home. Aunty and my brother, we are from the same people, we are of the Wiradjuri nation, hard water. We are of the river country, and we have flowed down the rivers to estuaries to oceans.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
An excavator starts its smothering engine over the torrent of each barrel. Over the sun. Over the blue. And I wonder, if we stand here, if we stay, if they stop digging up Aunty’s backyard, stop digging up a mother’s memory, stop digging up our people, maybe then, we’ll all stop crying.
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