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Chapter 19: Good-bye, Buddy
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
On Saturday, Billy Pretty takes Quoyle to Gaze Island. On the way, Billy tells Quoyle about the rocks in the bay, near Quoyle’s Point, and laced around Newfoundland like dangerous teeth. He also warns Quoyle about old Nolan, a long-lost Quoyle cousin who mostly keeps to himself but who, according to Billy, may resent Agnis for taking the house. He is cut in the mold of the old-fashioned “wild,” inbred,” murderous Quoyles. The Quoyles only settled at the Point about a hundred years ago, dragging their house with them across the ice.
The rocks yet again emphasize the difficulty of living in Newfoundland. But they also suggest the deep connection locals have with this place—to Billy the rocks are as familiar as the back of his hand. He clearly loves belonging wholly to this place, and his love of the topography models to Quoyle (and to readers) what it might mean to truly fit in and belong to a place in the world. Yet, it appears that Quoyle’s place on the island might be endangered by a heretofore unknown cousin. It seems that there’s more darkness in the family history that he knows.
Themes
Gaze Island lies a little way off the main island, and the side that faces Newfoundland is a sheer cliff protected by reefs and rocks so dangerous that if you weren’t born and raised there (like Billy), you’re likely to sink. But Billy expertly navigates the waters and suddenly Quoyle looks up to see half a dozen little houses and buildings and a church—all looking surprisingly sound, if weathered and abandoned. The Canadian government moved the few families that lived on Gaze Island to Newfoundland in the 1960s.
The little settlement on Gaze Island is preserved in time and stands as a testament to the social, economic, and civic changes that happened in Newfoundland after the island became a part of Canada. In a way, it seems obvious that life is (comparatively) easier on the mainland, where there are hospitals and other modern conveniences. Yet, the beauty of the place and Billy’s enduring affection for it hint at how hard it must have been to leave.
Themes
In the cemetery, while Billy tends to his father William’s grave, he tells Quoyle William’s story. He was born William Ankle, the son of a London printer, but his poor family had to put William in an orphanage. From there, he and hundreds of other children were sent to Canada to work on farms. William was shipwrecked just off Gaze Island in 1909; he was one of 27 survivors, and he had the good luck to be hidden from the authorities by the Prettys, who thus unofficially adopted him. William kept in touch with some of the other orphans, all of whom had miserable lives. Quoyle thinks of his own father (Guy) who had a passion for rich farmland and sweet fruit—things foreign to his birthplace in Newfoundland.
William’s story parallels Quoyle’s and holds out hope that his future may be better than his past. Like Quoyle, William’s family cast him aside (even if it was out of necessity rather than cruelty) and he found himself washed ashore in Newfoundland without really choosing to be there. And he found a home on Gaze Island. Indeed, Billy tells the story in a way that suggests his father was somehow destined for Gaze Island, that he fit there better than he did in London. And this in turn makes Quoyle realize that not everyone is meant to finish their life where they started. If Guy needed to leave Newfoundland to be happy, conversely, perhaps Quoyle needed to land there to find fulfillment.
Themes
Billy tells Quoyle that William became the self-appointed island schoolteacher because his family taught him to read and write. One Christmas, he presented his neighbors with a crate of books to share. Billy also tells Quoyle the saying William had about women. There are women in each man’s life: “the Maid in the Meadow, the Demon Lover, the Stouthearted Woman, and the Tall and Quiet Woman.” Billy doesn’t know much about it. He’s never been married or even interested in women.
Not only did William find a home on Gaze, but he also found purpose and meaning in the community there. An important part of William’s story is the reminder that purpose and meaning happen in communities and in relationships. Even the ditty about the women organizes a view of life lived in relationship to others. Billy hasn't been married, but it’s clear that he finds fulfilment in other relationships.
Themes
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Billy points out another, even older looking cemetery and dramatically announces that it’s the cemetery of Quoyle’s ancestors, who started out on Gaze Island as “wrackers”—people who made their living by stealing goods from shipwrecks. The Quoyles had a bad reputation for intentionally luring ships onto the rocks, but truth be told, many Newfoundland families took things from shipwrecks at one time or another, when the opportunity arose. The Quoyles’ house used to sit not far from the cemetery, before Gaze Island got religion and the Quoyles left for the Point, dragging the house across the frozen sea.
Perhaps part of the affinity between Billy and Quoyle comes from the fact that their roots lie on Gaze Island. They showed strength (perhaps in addition to a certain amount of bloodthirstiness) by surviving in this hard place. Billy’s story assures Quoyle that he comes from hardy stock and that perhaps he has inherited more strength and resilience than he realizes. But it also bears a warning that those who cannot figure out how to live among others will not live in peace.
Themes
