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Chapter 1
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Blueback, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Nature, Belonging, and Conservation
Family and Love
Greed and Environmental Destruction
The Ocean and Life’s Mysteries
Time, Change, and Continuity
Summary
Analysis
While Abel and his mother shell the abalone they gathered, Abel decides to name the fish Blueback because he was bluer than the sea or the sky. Abel can’t wait to go back to Robbers Head the next day after school to see Blueback again.
When Abel gives the blue groper a name, he strengthens his connection to the fish and marks how special Blueback is to him. Abel’s excitement to see Blueback again shows that Abel already cares deeply about the fascinating fish.
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After breakfast, Abel lays kelp in the orchard as fertilizer for the fruit trees. He and his mother work hard to live off the land and the sea in Longboat Bay, Australia, just as Abel’s ancestors have done for over a century. Behind the orchard is a family cemetery, where many of Abel’s ancestors are buried. There’s a grave marker for his father too. Abel loves swimming in the bay, exploring the forested national park behind his home, and living with his mother. But sometimes he gets lonely, and he wants a big family of his own one day.
Abel and his mother live in harmony with nature. They take good care of Longboat Bay, and in return they depend on the land and sea for their livelihood. Abel enjoys being in nature, and he feels connected to his home. He’s also connected to earlier generations of his family, who remain close to him as the previous inhabitants of Longboat Bay. Additionally, he loves his mother and wants to have even more loved ones around him. For Abel—who has grown up with only his mother since his father died—familial love is a crucial antidote to loneliness.
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Abel finds his mother in the shed fixing their generator. He asks her if they can see Blueback again today, and she agrees. So, after lunch, Abel and his mother dive back into the bay off Robbers Head and look for Blueback. They don’t spot him until Abel’s mother catches a crayfish. Suddenly, Blueback appears and steals the crayfish for himself. Abel is excited, but Blueback vanishes again and soon Abel and his mother have to return home.
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