Trial Essay On Past the Shallows (Common Module)

Resource Description

This was my HSC and trial essay for Common Module Texts and Human Experiences (Past the Shallows). I got 17/20 for this essay – it’s not a perfect essay but definitely should be a solid and helpful base guide for anyone starting to prepare!

Common Module – Past the Shallows

Texts will often draw in readers to explore the fragility of human emotions and relationships in order to reconsider their understanding of the world and humanity. The 2011 gothic fiction novel Past the Shallows by Favel Parrett explores this idea through the harrowing representations of individual and collective human experiences. Set in Tasmania, the novel explores the tragic story of three brothers trying to hold the remains of their family together despite the hardships they suffer. Through the masterful use of language features, Parrett illustrates the traumatic human experiences of the loss of childhood innocence and the impacts of violence and neglect within a family, inviting readers to share in these experiences and reconsider their understanding of the world and humanity.

In order for one to deepen their understand and conception of humanity, they must explore the fragility of important human experiences, such as the loss of childhood innocence. In Past the Shallows, the fragility of childhood innocence and its forced loss is a highly prevalent concept that is seen mostly in the relationship between Miles and Harry, as seen in the anadiplosis, “Harry had a way about him. A way that made you promise to take care of him.” This is from the perspective of Miles, demonstrating his benevolent qualities and protectiveness towards Harry in the absence of an adequate parental figure. As a result, Miles is torn between maintaining his own youth and freedom while having to take on an adult level of responsibility. The juxtaposing diction, “He must man the boat alone while the men go down” greatly demonstrates the two paradoxical roles Miles must fulfil and how he must surrender his childhood innocence in order to support the remains of his family.