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Sergeant Raco
Scott Whitlam is originally from Melbourne, but he becomes the school principal in the rural town of Kiewarra. Despite his prominent position in the local community, he is a gambling addict who embezzles $50,000 from the school. To conceal his crime, he murders Luke, Karen, and Billy (Karen, Whitman’s employee, discovers Whitlam’s crimes and confronts him about them). Falk and Sergeant Raco eventually discover the truth about Whitlam, leading to a standoff where Whitlam threatens to burn the whole town down. While there is some context for Whitlam’s violent actions (he embezzled the money to protect his family from black market money-lenders), he is overall a monstrous character who fails to recognize the humanity of anyone other than himself and his family. He represents the arrogance many urban dwellers have toward rural life as well as the deadly effect greed can have on a person.
Whitlam Quotes in The Dry
The The Dry quotes below are all either spoken by Whitlam or refer to Whitlam. 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:
).
Chapter 11
Quotes
“Scott,” she began, then stopped. He waited. She took a deep breath. “Scott, to be honest, I wasn’t sure about coming to you with this. My husband—” Karen held his gaze, but Whitlam felt she was forcing herself. “Luke, well. Look, he wouldn’t be happy.”
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Chapter 21
Quotes
“Christ, it’s like Deliverance around here sometimes.”
Chapter 34
Quotes
“These gambling types are fair old suckers, though. Always looking for strategies and loopholes. End of the day, it only works if you back the right horse.”
Chapter 35
Quotes
“It was never about Luke.”
Chapter 39
Quotes
“Stay back,” he said, rotating his hand. Falk caught a first glint of metal and his brain screamed gun, while a deeper part flitted frantically, trying to process what he was seeing. Raco tensed next to him. Whitlam unfolded his hand finger by finger, and Falk’s breath left his chest. He heard Raco groan long and deep. A thousand times worse than a gun.
It was a lighter.
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Get the entire The Dry LitChart as a printable PDF.
Whitlam Quotes in The Dry
The The Dry quotes below are all either spoken by Whitlam or refer to Whitlam. 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:
).
Chapter 11
Quotes
“Scott,” she began, then stopped. He waited. She took a deep breath. “Scott, to be honest, I wasn’t sure about coming to you with this. My husband—” Karen held his gaze, but Whitlam felt she was forcing herself. “Luke, well. Look, he wouldn’t be happy.”
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21
Quotes
“Christ, it’s like Deliverance around here sometimes.”
Chapter 34
Quotes
“These gambling types are fair old suckers, though. Always looking for strategies and loopholes. End of the day, it only works if you back the right horse.”
Chapter 35
Quotes
“It was never about Luke.”
Chapter 39
Quotes
“Stay back,” he said, rotating his hand. Falk caught a first glint of metal and his brain screamed gun, while a deeper part flitted frantically, trying to process what he was seeing. Raco tensed next to him. Whitlam unfolded his hand finger by finger, and Falk’s breath left his chest. He heard Raco groan long and deep. A thousand times worse than a gun.
It was a lighter.
Related Characters:
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
