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 walks slowly on his way back to Dad’s house, observing the worn-down remnants of houses and farms that sit away from the road. Dad’s pickup truck is gone when Miles arrives at the house and he stands in the living room looking at the full ashtrays, the empty alcohol bottles, and the carpet still stained with his own blood.
Though Dad’s absence is a brief reprieve for Miles, being alone in the house forces him to confront the evidence of Dad and Jeff’s alcohol bender and the subsequent abuse he and Harry suffered. The fact that Dad left the house in disarray shows that he is avoiding the consequences of his actions rather than admitting culpability.
Themes
Miles notices a ray of sunlight from the window reflecting off a framed photograph of Mum. He picks up the photo and remembers the day it was taken on Cloudy Bay. Mum and Uncle Nick had brought him to the beach and Nick took Miles surfing on his longboard. Miles remembers Uncle Nick telling him that he was safe and feeling nothing but the water rolling gently beneath them. Miles waved to Mum and she waved back as he and Uncle Nick came out of the wave. Snapping out of the memory, Miles sets down the photo and gets started cleaning the house before Dad returns home.
Like Granddad, Uncle Nick was somewhat of a paternal figure in Miles’s life. Nick’s presence was particularly significant for Miles because he was the one who introduced him to surfing, a pastime that Miles now relies on for mental clarity and relief from Dad’s mistreatment. The image of this lighthearted photograph amidst the remnants of Dad and Jeff’s violence highlights the destructive impact of Mum and Uncle Nick’s deaths on the Curren family, as well as the symbolic connection between Mum and the beauty of the natural world.
Themes
