Anomalies, paradoxes and inconsistencies

Potential question: Explore how texts illuminate the inconsistencies in our behaviour, and how this shapes our understanding of what it means to be human.

There is certainly an abundance of these “anomalies, paradoxes and inconsistences” throughout the entire novel. For example:

• Dad’s constant anger and abuse, despite the warmth and comfort we often associate with familial relationships

• Miles being torn between the childhood innocence he misses and the adult reality he is forced into

• Aunty Jean’s desire to help the boys while simultaneously being harsh and somewhat irritating

• The ocean—a metaphor for the human experience in general—being both beautiful, calm and healing and extremely violent, unpredictable and volatile

• The other members of the town being able to recognise the family’s toxicity yet being unable or unwilling to help in any major capacity

• The past and the present constantly melding and intruding on each other.

Each of these inconsistencies are illustrated by Parrett in order to achieve one overarching goal: to show that humans are often confusing and our lives do not always go as planned or as expected. This is why many of the adult characters’ behaviour and motivations, especially that of Dad’s, are partially concealed, and why the novel chooses to focus on the perspectives of the two young children.

Our behaviour is often erratic because life is as tumultuous as the ocean—that is largely what it means to be human, and by representing it in such an evocative way, Past the Shallows helps readers understand that.

The Paradoxical Nature of Family

In Past the Shallows, the role of family is paradoxical. In many ways family represents safety and intimacy. For example the brothers’ relationship with each other, their mother and granddad. However, their relationship with their father subverts this expectation as Steven is physically abusive, cruel and dangerous.

Challenges Assumptions about Monstrosity

The contrast between Steven, the boys’ father, and George Fuller, the town ‘monster’, demonstrate that true monstrosity is not external, but intrinsic. Despite George’s deformities, Harry finds a place of respite, love and protection in his home. On the other hand, his father, a figure that traditionally represents love and protection, is monstrous in reality.