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
Dad brings home fish and chips for dinner. Miles tells him that Harry is staying at Stuart’s house, but Dad does not respond or even look at Miles. He checks in the refrigerator for beer but finds that he and Jeff have already drunk it all. Dad nonchalantly tells Miles that there are potato cakes to eat with their meal, but Miles is reluctant to take any food because Dad usually never gets him expensive fish.
Although Dad has been terribly cruel to his sons, this passage shows that he is not wholly evil, but rather has been ravaged and morally degraded by addiction. His peace offering of fish and chips, coupled with his inability to look at Miles, suggests that he is remorseful for his actions.
Themes
Miles hesitantly puts some fish and chips on his plate and sits down in the living room to eat with Dad. His father is still unable to look at him, averting his eyes from the bandage on Miles’s forehead. They watch a gameshow together and Dad makes small talk about the fishing boat. Miles wants to ask about the Fisheries officers who came to the house but decides not to, in hopes that Harry’s absence will diffuse Dad’s anger over the next few days.
Dad’s nonchalance toward Miles seems callous, but his refusal to look at his son implies that his behavior is rooted in guilt rather than indifference. Despite this, Miles is still afraid of his father and avoids pressing the issue of the Fisheries officers, as he is acutely aware of Dad’s potential for volatility.
Themes
