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Chapter 24: Berry Picking
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
One late fall day, when the bay is full of choppy waves, Quoyle drives into work by way of the Bawk’s Nest diner. There, he finds Billy and Tert arguing about Newfoundland’s future. Tert is counting on the oil industry and the massive influx of money he thinks Newfoundland will enjoy when Canada starts to exploit recently discovered oil reserves off the Grand Banks. Tert bought Mobil stock and can’t wait until to get rich enough to retire to Florida.
At the threshold of the 21st century, the book understands that life must change to keep up with the times—the fishing, whaling, and sealing industries that once supported life on Newfoundland don’t have the same place in modern times. But it doesn’t agree with an uncritical promotion of the oil industry, and it suggests Tert’s view is naive and short-sighted.
Themes
Billy thinks Tert’s vision is a lot of nonsense. He thinks oil companies will enrich themselves and leave everyone else to clean up their inevitable messes—like a recent spill off Cape Despond. Modernity, he says, has brought only suffering and crime to Newfoundland. It was better in the old days, when the fish were plentiful, and people looked out for each other. Tert retorts that the old days were terrible: people died of diseases that can now be treated with antibiotics, and they only helped each other because there wasn’t another option. He shouts that oil is strong and fishing is weak, and he refuses to back down even as other diner patrons begin to take offense and warn him that his ideas might endanger the Gammy Bird’s circulation.
The novel also doesn’t agree with Billy that a return to the old ways is preferable—if such a thing were even possible. While it agrees with his complaints about the greed and selfishness that animate exploitation of natural resources, it nevertheless acknowledges the benefits of technological progress. Thus it suggests that humanity’s way forward lies in finding a balance between the traditional ways and new technologies, a balance between fishing and drilling rather than a zero-sum contest.
Themes
Tert’s anger reignites at the Gammy Bird office, when he reads Quoyle’s most recent boat feature, titled “Nobody Hangs a Picture of an Oil Tanker.” In it, Quoyle, who witnessed the destruction of the Cape Despond oil spill firsthand, notes that the biggest ships on the sea are oil tankers. He contrasts them unfavorably with older sailing ships and highlights the dangers they pose to people and marine life. That evening, Tert rewrites Quoyle’s story. A few days later, he hangs a picture of the Quiet Eye, the world’s largest oil tanker, behind his desk.
In general, the book wants to strike a balance between tradition and progress. It insinuates that Quoyle’s over-romanticized vision of the age of sail is somewhat naïve. But his larger point about the ecological costs of the oil industry dovetails with the book’s general concern about the exploitation of natural resources in the name of greed. Herold’s story in the previous chapter pointed to the human costs; Quoyle’s report in this chapter highlights the ecological costs.
Themes
Quoyle thinks the picture is funny until he sees the story, which Tert rewrote in fawning praise of the oil industry. Enraged to have his words so twisted, Quoyle confronts Tert. Tert retorts that he can do what he wants as managing editor, but he nevertheless flees the building like a coward. Incensed, Quoyle wants to go straight to Jack, but Billy warns him not to interrupt Jack’s fishing time. And a few days later, Jack calls into the office to tell Quoyle that he should write his column his own way. He’s forbidden Tert from rewriting it ever again.
Tert clearly crosse a line when he rewrites Quoyle’s article to support Tert’s own beliefs. In his old life, Quoyle would have accepted this kind of treatment without complaint, and perhaps even told himself that he deserved it. But he’s been given a second chance in life, and that second chance is changing him. He stands up for himself even though that requires him to face the terrifying prospect of losing his job. By doing so, he gains a measure of dignity. He learns that he’s strong enough to stand up for himself—and that his thoughts have value.
Themes
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