Dad Character Analysis in Swallow the Air

May’s father, a white man who abandons the family long before Mum’s suicide. At first, May remembers her father as an ideal parent who played with her patiently, taught her to fish, and repaired her bike. When he sends her a postcard after years without contact, she decides to leave her unsatisfactory home with Aunty in search of him. However, when May finally comes across him, he’s a cheering spectator at a brutal prizefight. The violent context of this encounter forces May to remember the violent tendencies he exhibited during her childhood. Far from being a responsible parent, he was addicted to marijuana and abused Mum. While revisiting these memories is painful, the experience allows May to move past her father and come to terms with his abandonment. Her disillusionment with Dad also causes May to become more connected and committed to her Aboriginal heritage.

Dad Quotes in Swallow the Air

The Swallow the Air quotes below are all either spoken by Dad or refer to Dad. 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:

If you could be any fruit what would you be? I would be the mango that breaks off the stem into my dad’s fingers, the apple of his eye before I slide into the picking bag.

Related Characters: May Gibson (speaker), Dad

Page Number and Citation: 63

Explanation and Analysis:

This is one of the novel’s most strikingly poetic passages, as well as a significant illustration of May’s relationship with her absent father. The juvenile, almost silly question she poses to herself reminds the reader how young she is, while her contrastingly lyrical answer shows unusual wisdom—a maturity that is both impressive and tragic, since it stems from all the trauma she’s undergone in her short life. May can only imagine what Dad is like, but her focus on this small, quotidian gesture shows her longing for a stable parent. At the same time, the image is slightly troubling because Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Volupta

My old man isn’t though; his family are from the First Fleet and everything. Rich folk they were, fancy folk from England.

Related Characters: May Gibson (speaker), Pete, Dad

Page Number and Citation: 82

Explanation and Analysis:

As May drives toward Darwin with Pete, a friendly truck driver, she explains a little about her origins. May tells the truth about Mum, saying that she’s Aboriginal; but she lies about Dad, giving him a much more conventionally prestigious background than he actually possesses (“First Fleet” refers to the first set of ships that arrived in Australia from England, and has the same social cachet as the Mayflower in American history). In part, this expresses May’s wish to know more about the father she’s heading towards—after all, she left home in search of her dad, and she barely knows Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducim

A jawbone crunches under a slice of bare knuckles. Bloodied eyeballs throw blank expressions. Mouths fling spittle streamers about the dirt red ring. Frantic, finger-bitten punches claw tangled in the shiny skin.

Related Characters: May Gibson (speaker), Dad, Pete

Page Number and Citation: 84

Explanation and Analysis:

While May is hitching a ride to Darwin, the truck driver, Pete, decides to stop at a rodeo. May is horrified to see that alongside the official events brutal prizefights are taking place, and even kind-hearted Pete seems to enjoy them wholeheartedly. To describe the carnage around her, May uses extremely disjointed, almost stilted language; only through close reading is it possible to discern exactly what is going on. This stylistic technique, known as estrangement, reflects May’s state of shock, and her inability to think coherently at this time, forcing the reader to share in her confused repulsion. This passage Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti s

I remembered now, when that anger face became his always face and the world ceased to be real, to be able to be understood, so I had left it behind. I couldn’t remember the endings to the memories of him. But here they were laid bare—the bones of him that I had hidden.

Related Characters: May Gibson (speaker), Dad

Page Number and Citation: 86

Explanation and Analysis:

By an extraordinary coincidence, May recognizes her father among the spectators at the rodeo. Instead of the stable, First Fleet parent she conjured in her imagination, he’s chomping on a cigar and eagerly betting on the prizefight that May abhors. In her shock, May suddenly recalls violent memories of Dad that she had previously suppressed, in which he abuses both her and Mum. May has been using her memories as a guide, but now it turns out her memories have been untrustworthy, leading her to seek out a man whom she’s never going to have a loving or secure relationship Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accus

The screams must have been so deafening, the river of tears so overflowing that the current could only steal her. The flood breaking so high, that she had to leave us behind. We couldn’t swim either.

Related Characters: May Gibson (speaker), Mum, Dad

Related Symbols: Water

Page Number and Citation: 88

Explanation and Analysis:

After May comes to grips with Dad’s true character, she imagines the effects of a violent and abusive relationship on Mum. Eventually, she concludes that Mum’s marriage was a large factor in her deteriorating mental state. Previously, May didn’t like to dwell on her mother’s illness or suicide—if anything, she felt resentful of Mum for leaving her and Billy without a parent. Although she’s lost faith in Dad now, this experience helps her develop more empathy towards Mum and begin to imagine the trials that characterized her mother’s life. Interestingly, although water is a positive force throughout the novel, appearing Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor as

Dad Character Timeline in Swallow the Air

The timeline below shows where the character Dad appears in Swallow the Air. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Around this time, May receives a postcard from her Dad. She puts it in her pocket and rides to the quarry at the foot of... (full context)

In his brief postcard, Dad apologizes for being out of contact for so long and informs May that he’s picking... (full context)

To May, it feels as though Dad has never left and is sitting beside her. She remembers eating watermelon with him when... (full context)

...situation to improve, May “[takes] the mango into my mouth” and decides to search for Dad. Aunty can’t appreciate the postcard as May does; she is too consumed by alcoholism. If... (full context)

The opium causes May’s memories to replay like distorted movies. She remembers being with Dad in the garden, except that he’s crying as he shovels dirt and blood is spilling... (full context)

...guess by her skin color. May tells him that Mum was Aboriginal, but lies that Dad is descended from “fancy folk from England.” (full context)

Suddenly, May recognizes that one of the people “watching the men bleed faces” is Dad. She says that some things are impossible to forget, and that she will never forget... (full context)

Dad’s angry face reminds May of all his angry moments in the past. She remembers standing... (full context)

...it seems to May that Mum was “a beaten person,” unable to stand up to Dad or even scream at him. All her pent-up rage must have come out the day... (full context)

Finally, having truly remembered Dad, May can “let him go.” She walks back to the truck and waits for Pete,... (full context)

Dad Character Analysis

Dad Quotes in Swallow the Air

7. To Run Quotes

8. Territory Quotes

Dad Character Timeline in Swallow the Air