Spider is another of Thornhill's neighbors on the Hawkesbury River. He's an unlucky man—seemingly always the first on the river to be stolen from or have a crop washed away. He calls his piece of land "Never Fail," which Thornhill finds ironic. After the natives steal his corn crop and all his belongings, he moves to the town of Windsor on the mouth of the Hawkesbury River and opens a rum bar. He's an instrumental figure in organizing the massacre at Blackwood's.
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Spider Character Timeline in The Secret River
The timeline below shows where the character Spider appears in The Secret River. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 3: A Clearing in the Forest
A man nicknamed Spider arrives with Loveday. Thornhill hopes the conversation will turn away from killing the natives, but...
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Part 5: Drawing a Line
...Sagitty, Loveday, Blackwood, and another neighbor. When Thornhill enters, Sagitty and Smasher tell him about Spider: while Spider was gone one day, his wife had been tricked into trading with a...
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The attack on Spider's family becomes one of many attacks: nearly every farmer has an encounter with the natives....
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Part 6: The Secret River
...of Windsor, Thornhill, Ned, and Dan get Sagitty to the hospital and then go to Spider's bar. They hear Sagitty's scream when someone pulls the spear out and they know he's...
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Spider solemnly says that they have to go get the natives before the natives get them....
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Part 6: Mr. Thornhill's Villa
...the following ten years, the river itself doesn't change. New men move to Smasher and Spider's places, and Thornhill buys Sagitty's place and 100 acres that includes Darkey Creek. It's called...
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