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Chapter 16: Beety’s Kitchen
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Shipping News, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love and Family
Redemption, Courage, and Happiness
Life and Death
Resilience and Survival
Modernity
Summary
Analysis
As he writes up his story about the Tough Baby, Quoyle has a sense of hitting his stride. He feels like the story is good, like he captured Bayonet’s and Silver’s bloody-minded glee over the Tough Baby’s destructiveness. But Tert Card lambasts it when Quoyle hands it over. He doesn’t think Jack will be pleased that his reporter went off-assignment and wrote up a boat when he was supposed to be writing up the latest traffic accident. The accident, Quoyle protests, was nothing. Billy backs him up.
It's clear that things are changing for Quoyle, who used to need Partridge’s help to write halfway decent articles. Now, he’s taking steps toward standing up for himself. Notably, the last time the article came up, Quoyle was struggling with it. It falls into place after a visit to Agnis’s shop and to Dennis and Beety’s house—as others love and accept Quoyle, he’s better able to love and accept himself.
Themes
Nevertheless, Quoyle jangles with nervousness the next day when Jack stalks in and calls Quoyle to his office. Quoyle knows he’s messed up. But it turns out that Jack—and Jack’s wife Mrs. Buggit, and at least a few dozen other locals—loved the piece. Jack makes it clear that Quoyle has earned his permanent place at the Gammy Bird. From now on, Jack assigns him to profile at least one ship a week, either in Killick-Claw or elsewhere. Quoyle goes back to his desk in a daze. For the first time in all his 36 years, he’s finally done something right.
When Quoyle’s piece is a hit, it’s his first step toward redemption. Just a few weeks earlier, he fretted to Agnis that he didn’t think he could fit in at the paper. But he’s not only fitting in—he’s thriving. His outside perspective gives him something the paper needs. And for the first time in his life, Quoyle begins to believe that he and his talents might have value.
Themes
