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Jackie
Frank, also known as Leaper, is Max’s younger brother and a professional footballer. A sensitive child, Frank is much weaker than Max, but much faster too and more talented at football. Max torments Frank, mocking him for defecating himself at school and burying his head in the sand; he unfairly blames Frank for their mother leaving them in White Point with their father, after they went on what they believed was a two-week trip. Frank feels that his father doesn’t love him, and once he leaves White Point to play football, he avoids returning, even for his father’s funeral. While football makes him truly happy, eventually he starts to lose his ability to play, hearing Max’s voice in his head, taunting him, making him freeze up on the field. Frank washes out of the league and, after a dramatic, highly publicized and several days of drinking, he returns to White Point on a whim to surf. Meeting Max out on the waves, he finally confronts him, but he also asks Max if he can meet Max’s family. When a shark attacks Max, Frank tries desperately to save him, risking his own life in the process; holding on to Max as a wave crashes over them, Frank is pulled down with him into the reef, and it is left unclear if they make it safely back to shore.
Frank (Leaper) Quotes in The Turning
The The Turning quotes below are all either spoken by Frank (Leaper) or refer to Frank (Leaper). 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:
).
Sand
Quotes
His brother rolled over. A fat red moon emerged from behind the highest, farthest dune. Frank felt sand in his shorts. His undies sagged, full and bulky with it, the way they were the day he pooped his pants at school. He remembered the way he had to wide-leg it to the toilets. With all the kids laughing. And how he locked himself inside to wait for his mother. How Max came in and said he’d kill him if he didn’t stop bawling and clean himself up. You’re adopted, he said, they found you on the tip, in a kennel. The day went on forever and their mother never came.
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Family
Quotes
It was you, said Leaper.
Max said nothing.
You, he thought. When the grass suddenly went hard underfoot, and the ball forever out of reach, it was you lurking at the back of my mind. That’s what fucked it, that’s why I started to care. There you were, bro. Just the thought of you was a weight in my legs, and the more I cared the worse it was.
A bigger wave came upon them. Before Leaper could surrender to it he had to earn it. He kicked so hard he felt poison in his legs. But he got them the wave. Max’s head was loose on his neck.
They bellied down the long, smooth face and beneath them the reef flickered all motley and dappled, weaves of current and colour and darting things that were buried with Max and him as a thundering cloud of whitewater overtook them. The blast of water ripped through Leaper’s hair and pounded in his ears. The reef was all over him but he held fast to his brother, hugging him to the board, hanging on with all the strength left in his fingers, for as long as he could, and for longer than he should have.
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Frank (Leaper) Quotes in The Turning
The The Turning quotes below are all either spoken by Frank (Leaper) or refer to Frank (Leaper). 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:
).
Sand
Quotes
His brother rolled over. A fat red moon emerged from behind the highest, farthest dune. Frank felt sand in his shorts. His undies sagged, full and bulky with it, the way they were the day he pooped his pants at school. He remembered the way he had to wide-leg it to the toilets. With all the kids laughing. And how he locked himself inside to wait for his mother. How Max came in and said he’d kill him if he didn’t stop bawling and clean himself up. You’re adopted, he said, they found you on the tip, in a kennel. The day went on forever and their mother never came.
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Family
Quotes
It was you, said Leaper.
Max said nothing.
You, he thought. When the grass suddenly went hard underfoot, and the ball forever out of reach, it was you lurking at the back of my mind. That’s what fucked it, that’s why I started to care. There you were, bro. Just the thought of you was a weight in my legs, and the more I cared the worse it was.
A bigger wave came upon them. Before Leaper could surrender to it he had to earn it. He kicked so hard he felt poison in his legs. But he got them the wave. Max’s head was loose on his neck.
They bellied down the long, smooth face and beneath them the reef flickered all motley and dappled, weaves of current and colour and darting things that were buried with Max and him as a thundering cloud of whitewater overtook them. The blast of water ripped through Leaper’s hair and pounded in his ears. The reef was all over him but he held fast to his brother, hugging him to the board, hanging on with all the strength left in his fingers, for as long as he could, and for longer than he should have.
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