Past the Shallows

by

Favel Parrett

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Past the Shallows makes teaching easy.
One of the abalone fishermen who works on the boat with Dad, Miles, and Jeff. Despite his intimidating appearance, Martin is one of few adults in the story who treats Miles with kindness and respect. He is injured by a shark that is accidentally reeled onto the boat and is forced to take a leave of absence from fishing. Without Martin there to look out for Miles, Dad and Jeff’s partnership becomes toxic as they encourage each other’s proclivity for substance abuse, violence, and criminality.

Martin Quotes in Past the Shallows

The Past the Shallows quotes below are all either spoken by Martin or refer to Martin. 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 2 Quotes

First day of school holidays. First day he must man the boat alone while the men go down. Old enough now, he must take his place. Just like his brother before him, he must fill the gap Uncle Nick left.

Related Characters: Miles Curren, Joe Curren, Dad/Steven Curren, Uncle Nick, Granddad, Jeff, Martin
Page Number: 9
Explanation and Analysis:

There were things that no one would teach you—things about the water. You just knew them or you didn’t and no one could tell you how to read it. How to feel it. Miles knew the water. He could feel it. And he knew not to trust it.

Related Characters: Miles Curren, Dad/Steven Curren, Uncle Nick, Jeff, Martin
Related Symbols: Water
Page Number: 12
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5 Quotes

He used to feel sorry for the abs when he was young. The way they pulsed and moved in the tubs, sensing the bright light and heat. But he couldn’t think about them like that now. He was only careful not to cut or bruise them, because once abs started to bleed, they kept on bleeding until all the liquid inside was gone. They just dried up and died.

Related Characters: Harry Curren, Miles Curren, Dad/Steven Curren, Uncle Nick, Mum, Granddad, Jeff, Martin
Page Number: 30-31
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

It was fully formed, more than half a yard long, maybe only days away from being born. It would have survived if Jeff had just let it go, let it slide off the back of the boat. It had made it this far, battling its siblings, killing and feeding off them. Waiting. It would have been born strong, ready to hunt, ready to fight.

Related Characters: Miles Curren, Dad/Steven Curren, Jeff, Martin
Page Number: 51
Explanation and Analysis:
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Past the Shallows PDF

Martin Quotes in Past the Shallows

The Past the Shallows quotes below are all either spoken by Martin or refer to Martin. 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 2 Quotes

First day of school holidays. First day he must man the boat alone while the men go down. Old enough now, he must take his place. Just like his brother before him, he must fill the gap Uncle Nick left.

Related Characters: Miles Curren, Joe Curren, Dad/Steven Curren, Uncle Nick, Granddad, Jeff, Martin
Page Number: 9
Explanation and Analysis:

There were things that no one would teach you—things about the water. You just knew them or you didn’t and no one could tell you how to read it. How to feel it. Miles knew the water. He could feel it. And he knew not to trust it.

Related Characters: Miles Curren, Dad/Steven Curren, Uncle Nick, Jeff, Martin
Related Symbols: Water
Page Number: 12
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5 Quotes

He used to feel sorry for the abs when he was young. The way they pulsed and moved in the tubs, sensing the bright light and heat. But he couldn’t think about them like that now. He was only careful not to cut or bruise them, because once abs started to bleed, they kept on bleeding until all the liquid inside was gone. They just dried up and died.

Related Characters: Harry Curren, Miles Curren, Dad/Steven Curren, Uncle Nick, Mum, Granddad, Jeff, Martin
Page Number: 30-31
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

It was fully formed, more than half a yard long, maybe only days away from being born. It would have survived if Jeff had just let it go, let it slide off the back of the boat. It had made it this far, battling its siblings, killing and feeding off them. Waiting. It would have been born strong, ready to hunt, ready to fight.

Related Characters: Miles Curren, Dad/Steven Curren, Jeff, Martin
Page Number: 51
Explanation and Analysis: