Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Past the Shallows, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Brotherhood, Loyalty, and Hardship
Addiction and Abuse
Tragedy and Blame
Father Figures and Responsibility
The Duality of Nature
Summary
Analysis
Miles searches through the meager contents of Dad’s kitchen cupboards, looking for something to prepare Harry for dinner. He decides to make mashed potatoes and remembers when Mum used to take them up to Huonville to get hot potatoes with cheese, coleslaw, herbs, and butter from the Potato Man.
The juxtaposition of Dad’s empty cabinets with Miles’s memory of the delicious hot potatoes shows just how severely their lives have deteriorated since Mum’s tragic death. Since Dad has clearly neglected to make sure his sons are provided for, Miles must take on the responsibility of feeding himself and Harry.
Themes
Miles carefully splits their portions equally and serves Harry on a small plate so that the meal looks more substantial. He plans to let Harry use the last of the milk for cocoa after dinner. While they eat, Harry tells Miles about the Fisheries officers who came to the door looking for Dad.
Miles’s painstaking efforts to make sure Harry is fed and happy shows just how deeply he cares for his little brother. The love he has for Harry seems to imbue Miles with a sense of purpose on which he focuses amidst the chaos of their home life.
Themes
