Past the Shallows

by

Favel Parrett

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Past the Shallows makes teaching easy.

George Fuller Character Analysis

An old man whom Harry Curren inadvertently befriends. George, who is scarred by facial deformities, lives in a small woodland shack with his dog Jake. He is ostracized by the community due to his appearance and solitary nature, and local schoolchildren are convinced that he is a murderous, cannibalistic monster. After being led to George by Jake, however, Harry soon finds that George is a shy, sweet old man who was a friend of Granddad’s and knew Mum when she was young. The pair become fast friends and George serves as a grandfatherly presence in the little boy’s life, taking him along on adventures, teaching him wilderness skills, and even offering Harry and Miles a place to stay after a particularly horrific episode of abuse from Dad and Jeff. He and Harry seem to be kindred spirits whose deep understanding of each other transcends words. As Harry lacks a stable parental figure in his life, George is a positive male role model for the boy, treating him with the love and gentle kindness he craves but does not receive from his father. George is away on a fishing trip when Harry drowns near the end of the story but is ultimately the one to recover his young friend’s body from a reef down the coastline.

George Fuller Quotes in Past the Shallows

The Past the Shallows quotes below are all either spoken by George Fuller or refer to George Fuller. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Brotherhood, Loyalty, and Hardship Theme Icon
).
Chapter 17 Quotes

Maybe that’s why Joe and Miles liked it so much. And he knew that Granddad would have taken him. It was just that he was too little, too small to go, when Granddad had been alive. And if Granddad hadn’t died then he definitely would have taken Harry fishing, too. And it would have been good, like this was.

Related Characters: Harry Curren, Miles Curren, Joe Curren, Dad/Steven Curren, George Fuller, Uncle Nick, Granddad
Related Symbols: Water
Page Number: 102
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 27 Quotes

And it nearly made Harry cry now, the way Miles’s eyelid was all purple and cut—the bruise on the side of his face coming up bad. Harry put his hand in his pocket and felt for the sock that held his leftover money. He pulled it out.

“You should take this,” he said. “You might need it.”

Miles shook his head. “You keep it,” he said and he tried to smile.

Related Characters: Harry Curren (speaker), Miles Curren (speaker), Dad/Steven Curren, George Fuller, Mum, Aunty Jean, Jeff, Stuart Phillips
Page Number: 152-153
Explanation and Analysis:

…Harry didn’t see him come back. There was just the backpack with some clothes left by the door of the trailer and inside, near the top, were some chocolates and the bright orange dart gun from his Bertie Beetle goodie bag.

Related Characters: Harry Curren, Miles Curren, Dad/Steven Curren, George Fuller, Jeff, Stuart Phillips
Page Number: 153
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 31 Quotes

Harry leaned his head back against the chair and thought that if Miles got lost, if Miles never came home, Harry’s insides would go wrong and they might never come right again. If Miles got lost.

Related Characters: Harry Curren, Miles Curren, George Fuller, Mum
Page Number: 173
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 43 Quotes

And Miles loved that light.

It made the dark water sparkle, turned the white spray golden—made the ocean a giant mirror reflecting the sky. Even the leaves on the crack wattle shone in the light.

It made everything come to life.

Related Characters: Harry Curren, Miles Curren, Joe Curren, George Fuller, Mum, Jake
Related Symbols: Water, Light
Page Number: 233
Explanation and Analysis:

Out past the shallows, past the sandy-bottomed bays, comes the dark water—black and cold and roaring. Rolling out an invisible path, a new line for them to follow.

To somewhere warm.

To somewhere new.

Related Characters: Harry Curren, Miles Curren, Joe Curren, Dad/Steven Curren, George Fuller, Jake
Related Symbols: Water
Page Number: 238
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Past the Shallows LitChart as a printable PDF.
Past the Shallows PDF

George Fuller Quotes in Past the Shallows

The Past the Shallows quotes below are all either spoken by George Fuller or refer to George Fuller. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Brotherhood, Loyalty, and Hardship Theme Icon
).
Chapter 17 Quotes

Maybe that’s why Joe and Miles liked it so much. And he knew that Granddad would have taken him. It was just that he was too little, too small to go, when Granddad had been alive. And if Granddad hadn’t died then he definitely would have taken Harry fishing, too. And it would have been good, like this was.

Related Characters: Harry Curren, Miles Curren, Joe Curren, Dad/Steven Curren, George Fuller, Uncle Nick, Granddad
Related Symbols: Water
Page Number: 102
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 27 Quotes

And it nearly made Harry cry now, the way Miles’s eyelid was all purple and cut—the bruise on the side of his face coming up bad. Harry put his hand in his pocket and felt for the sock that held his leftover money. He pulled it out.

“You should take this,” he said. “You might need it.”

Miles shook his head. “You keep it,” he said and he tried to smile.

Related Characters: Harry Curren (speaker), Miles Curren (speaker), Dad/Steven Curren, George Fuller, Mum, Aunty Jean, Jeff, Stuart Phillips
Page Number: 152-153
Explanation and Analysis:

…Harry didn’t see him come back. There was just the backpack with some clothes left by the door of the trailer and inside, near the top, were some chocolates and the bright orange dart gun from his Bertie Beetle goodie bag.

Related Characters: Harry Curren, Miles Curren, Dad/Steven Curren, George Fuller, Jeff, Stuart Phillips
Page Number: 153
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 31 Quotes

Harry leaned his head back against the chair and thought that if Miles got lost, if Miles never came home, Harry’s insides would go wrong and they might never come right again. If Miles got lost.

Related Characters: Harry Curren, Miles Curren, George Fuller, Mum
Page Number: 173
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 43 Quotes

And Miles loved that light.

It made the dark water sparkle, turned the white spray golden—made the ocean a giant mirror reflecting the sky. Even the leaves on the crack wattle shone in the light.

It made everything come to life.

Related Characters: Harry Curren, Miles Curren, Joe Curren, George Fuller, Mum, Jake
Related Symbols: Water, Light
Page Number: 233
Explanation and Analysis:

Out past the shallows, past the sandy-bottomed bays, comes the dark water—black and cold and roaring. Rolling out an invisible path, a new line for them to follow.

To somewhere warm.

To somewhere new.

Related Characters: Harry Curren, Miles Curren, Joe Curren, Dad/Steven Curren, George Fuller, Jake
Related Symbols: Water
Page Number: 238
Explanation and Analysis: