Past the Shallows is a novel by Australian author, Favel Parrett. Past the Shallows is a novel about 3 brothers living in Tasmania, and their struggles within their family. The book focuses on the two youngest brothers, Miles and Harry, and how they live with constant fear from their dad. Favel Parrett uses symbolism effectively, to show characters and ideas in Past the Shallows. Parrett uses the ocean as a symbol throughout the novel, to represent the behaviour of the father. A shark tooth necklace is also a symbol Parrett uses, to show how boys’ memories are unreliable and inconsistent. The ocean is a major symbol in Past the Shallows as it represents how the ocean can be tumultuous and unpredictable, which is much like the father. Throughout …show more content…
The tooth is to represent how boys’ memories are flawed and unreliable. The first time the shark tooth was found was when they were going through Granddads shed and found remnants of mums’ car. It was found underneath a car seat, and when Harry first showed it, Miles said, without hesitation “White Pointers tooth”. (pg. 92) This shark tooth brought back memories of the night their Mum died, which made them rethink what really happened. Each brother has a different recount of what happened the night of the car crash. Harry believes that he saw a man in the front seat next to his mum, Joe believes that their mum died of a heart attack, and Miles assumes that she wanted to die that night. All three accounts of the accident were all different, which shows how young boys’ memories aren’t the most reliable. Later in the novel, we find out that the shark tooth belonged to Uncle Nick, and how he was in the car the night of the crash. This is revealed when Harry and his father were fighting, and the dad sees the necklace on Harry’s neck. He speaks out of anger saying “It was his. She was leaving because of him.” (pg. 211) This also shares to the audience that Uncle Nick and the mum were having an affair. An extract from the end of the novel provides us with more evidence that Uncle Nick and the Mum were having an affair, but also hints that Harry is in fact Uncle Nick. It came from a flashback that Miles had with him, thinking “And in his mind he saw Uncle Nick get in the car. He leant over and stroked Harry’s cheek.” (pg. 250) The sharks’ tooth is a significant symbol in Past the Shallows as it represents how young boys’ memories can be distorted and not
Tie a Knot Around That: Different Interpretations of a Recurring Symbol Every novel embodies symbols that impute different elements of the plot and characters, though some symbols are right at the surface while others must be dug up from the core. The author of How To Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster, discusses symbols in his novel and states “They are what provide texture and depth to a work; without them, the literary world would be a little flat” (243). A symbol that is prevalent in The Shipping News, written by Annie Proulx, is the knot, as visually displayed all throughout the novel. The Shipping News discusses social and emotional change, along with growth, which all can be symbolized by the knot.
The symbols in The Things They Carried range from a pair of stockings from a soldier's girlfriend to tranquilizers. Some of the soldiers carried many items while other soldiers only carried a few items. The soldiers carried items such as letters, photographs, pebbles, stockings, tranquilizers, and drugs.
A symbol is a unique term because it can represent almost anything such as people, beliefs, and values. Symbols are like masks that people put on to describe their true self. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the author uses Tom Robinson and Arthur Radley to represent a mockingbird which illustrates the theme of innocence by presenting these characters as two harmless citizens that do not pose a threat to Maycomb.
The Big Fish has many symbols incorporated in the story but there are three main symbols. The three main symbols are the fish, the witch, and spectre. In each of these stories there is a common aspect, they are all something Edward Blume puts himself in the position to be bigger than. In the very first story that was told the symbol is the uncatchable fish. The next symbol that arises is the witch and the third symbol that shows up is spectre.
In The Veldt, Ray Bradbury uses symbolism and repetition to foreshadow and reveal hidden messages that will help the reader better understand the story. Throughout his writing, important details are repeated to give hints of what is to come. Some argue that descriptive language is the most significant craft used. Although Bradbury does use a great deal of descriptive language, it doesn’t lead the reader to the moral of the story. Symbolism also plays a big part in The Veldt. It allows the reader to dig deeper into the story and recognize what certain objects represent.
Ken Kesey’s novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is a story about a band of patients in a mental ward who struggle to find their identity and get away from the wretched Nurse. As audiences read about the tale, many common events and items seen throughout the story actually represent symbols for the bigger themes of the story. Symbols like the fishing trip, Nurse, and electroshock therapy all emphasize the bigger themes of the story.
In his literary work, A Long Way Gone:Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishamael Beah uses symbols to underscore his central theme of oppression and/or freedom.
In the dystopian novel, Brave New World, Huxley uses symbols to create meaning and to get his agenda across. The use of sex and reproduction, and Shakespearian writing and religious texts, as symbols in the novel help to push Huxley’s agenda that total government control is devastating, and the inner human drive to be an individual can never be suppressed. Also, the fact that the novel was written in 1931 shows that Huxley was attacking the newly forming Socialist nations.
Everyone has a Helene Tucker, a symbol for everything that they want in life. Whether it be a person or a thing. A symbol for everything I want would be my three younger siblings who represent Innocence, Happiness, and Love.
The Symbolism of Homer's Odyssey Throughout Homer's The Odyssey, many tangible symbols are used to represent abstract ideas. Each symbol that Homer uses has two meanings. The double meanings of these symbols are used to represent Odysseus and Telemachus as they strive to meet each other. While each symbol has a meaning that represents the growth of Telemachus, each one also represents, by another meaning, the growth and development of Odysseus. When they meet for the first time, the symbols, and the character traits that they represent confluence, and the resemblance between Odysseus and Telemachus becomes complete.
Lord of the Flies is a novel that is all about symbols that have different powers which is used on the boys. Two of the symbols which are the conch and the sow’s head contain powers that are opposite of each other and they have a great affect on the boys. Lord of the Flies would be a different story without symbols. The conch has the powers that lead to civilization and order. It represents the authority that the boys will need to get rescued from the island. The sow’s head on the other hand represents the evil powers to lead the boys to total chaos and savagery which is created by Jack. Jack has used one of the sow’s head’s symbolism which is the beast to control his group. The conch has a power that is used for order and civilization, while the sow’s head has a power to control evil and savagery.
Since she has worn this letter, she now has a label on her that she is
Discovery plays a role in every life, yet exploration of the unknown comes with consequences that may be unforeseen with no logical thought prior to action. In “Graveyard Shift” by Stephen King, the main character, John Hall, works at a mill during the company’s offtime and explores the basement and its sub-level while trying to clean and remove rats from the area. It goes poorly and the men who explored the sub-level die by its dark agents murdering them brutally. There are symbols spread throughout the story that depict a common theme. The mutated rats, reversed trap door, and decomposers fight back for their isolation, the theme displayed is some things are better left unexplored.
This story is so realistic in its context of the time and its superb character dialogues, that it is very easy for the reader to be transported right in the middle of that age, and right in the company of sea-faring pirates. The authorís vivid descriptions of Jim, the main character and narrator, the many Pirates and other characters he comes across during his adventures are painstakingly detailed. You can see young Jim's eager and excited face when he finds out he is going on a treasure hunt. You can also easily picture the rips and bloodstained rags of the pirates, and smell the foul alcohol on their breaths. The description of the island itself is extremely detailed also, and it seems like the author was looking straight off a geographical map when he wrote the in-depth account of it.
Chronic sinusitis can be extremely difficult to endure and with the illness come chronic fatigue, which makes it even harder to manage. One of the hallmark symptoms of sinusitis is, in fact, fatigue. In order to regain the ability to function normally, the issue has to clear up with treatment.