The stranger appears in the essay “Havoc: A Life in Accidents” as a visitor at the Wintons’ house when Tim Winton’s father is recovering from his motorbike accident. He carries and bathes Winton’s father, and Winton’s experience witnessing a strange man caring for his vulnerable father reveals to him the surprising kindness of strangers.
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The Stranger Character Timeline in The Boy Behind the Curtain
The timeline below shows where the character The Stranger appears in The Boy Behind the Curtain. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Havoc: A Life in Accidents
...to be. They welcome visits from family and friends, but one visitor is a complete stranger who offers to bathe his father.
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...a strange man is undressing, carrying, and bathing his father, and the idea of a stranger washing his father as though his father were an infant appalls him. But Winton learns...
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Tim’s parents’ newfound faith and hope rejuvenates Tim. Looking back, he realizes that the stranger’s actions were a miracle of decency and grace in a world that Winton learned could...
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