The Common Module

- Texts and Human Experiences -

1. In this common module students deepen their understanding of how texts represent individual and
collective human experiences:

o What are the ‘individual and collective human experiences’?

Favel Parrett positions us to understand the paradoxical (complex) nature of the human condition:
- Complexities of the human condition/experiences/humanity
- The centrality of conflict to the human condition (internal/external)
- Trust and betrayal
- The nature of home and family (paternal influence/paradoxical)

Toxic masculinity as a catalyst for intergenerational trauma:

- The father is almost the cautionary tale of where Miles will end up. Is that where he’ll end up if he
doesn’t relieve the burden of his past?

Unresolved past and its Intrusion on the Present (importance of facing fears and problems):
- Tragedy, Loss, Shame, Trauma, Fear
- Childhood/Formative Experiences
- Significance of Place (how place can impact us)
- Abuse, Violence, Conflict
- Dealing with Grief (Memory)
- Trapped and Lost
- Addiction

Nature: Epigraph (reflects emotions of the boys and represents the father):
- The transient nature of our existence
- Nature goes on forever
- Almost a fear towards nature (awe)
- Multifaceted Nature of the Ocean (symbolic and mimics the human experience)

Importance of Brotherhood and Loyalty

Identity/Coming of Age (Bildungsroman Narrative: initiation into new knowledge)

Fragility of Childhood (formative experiences, home, significance of place)

How our lives are inhibited when removed from others (isolated)

o What are the representations used by Parrett to convey these ‘individual and collective human
experiences’?

Shifting Third-Person Limited Narration

- Changes focus each chapter, between Miles and Harry
- Contrasting representations

Setting
- Nature, water, ocean
- Motif
- Isolated
- Reflects emotion
- Symbolises father (ocean)
- Contrast between natural setting and home (domestic)
 Epigraph (nature): foreshadows
- Is the natural world important in the text?
- Harshness of Isolation (positioned to be negative)
- Discovery

Symbolism/Motif
- E.g White Pointer shark’s tooth, scar on the tree symbolising Miles’ pain

Bildungsroman Narrative
- Discovery
- Coming of Age
- Initiation into new knowledge

Circular Structure:
- Novel opens and closes with the same imagery/idea, but shifts slightly
- Suggested the experiences have shifted, something has happened to change (Miles)
- Direction, being stuck, lost

Non-linear Narrative:
- Not chronological (flashbacks, analepsis)
- Symbolism of imagery in text

Sensory Imagery

Focalisation/Perspective

Dual Protagonists: Miles and Harry

Antithetical Framework (contrast, dichotomous representations)

2. They examine how texts represent human qualities and emotions associated with, or arising from,
these experiences:

o What are the ‘human qualities and emotions’ which we can see arising from the individual and
collective human experiences?

o How have the ‘human qualities and emotions’ been represented in the text?

Human Loss Unresolved Past Relationships Toxic Masculinity

Experience (individual and collective) (individual and collective) (individual) (individual and
collective)
Human Qualities  Repressed emotions  Internal/external  Empowering  Anger
and Emotions  Grief conflict  Uplifting  Embarrassment
arising from the  Fear  Grief/Memory  Enriching  Shame
Human  Feeling trapped or  Suffocated/restricted  Supportive  Hatred
Experiences lost  Trauma  Loving
 Internal/external  Shame  Trapped
conflict  Repressed  Toxic  Alone
Emotion/Emotionless  Abusive  Unsupported
 Restrictive  Lost Afraid
 Repressive
 Harmful
 Traumatic
  Uncomfortable
Textual Evidence  “And he thought, I am  “’I didn’t mean to fall  “The light was going. o “He just looked back
(representations) free – flying like a asleep,’ he said.” Soon it would be too at Dad and said ‘I’m
Moment, Quote, bird. I am free.” (224) (237). Burden, late. Joe was leaving. glad’”. (145)
Technique Freedom from unresolved trauma, Leaving.” (134) Relief and release.
fear/hazard and and its intrusion on The warmth and ‘I’m glad’ said by
isolation, sanctuary, the present. support Miles receives both Harry and Joe
control over destiny - Motif from Joe was fading, upon learning Dad
and existence. the light leaving with was not their father.
- Metaphor  “It still had a scar, a Joe.
- Motif line where the bark - Truncated o “But he wasn’t like
had never grown sentences he looked. He
 “and Miles back.” (78). - Symbolism wasn’t like dad.”
remembered waiting Miles blocked out the - Visual imagery (31)
in the dark and in the trauma. The scar Alludes to toxic
cold, and how he’d symbolisms Miles’  “But Harry had a way nature of the father.
called out for Mum pain, he hasn’t about him. A way that Contrast to Martin,
over and over, but she healed. made you promise to there is a niceness
didn’t answer. She - Symbolism take care of him.” to Martin that there
never answered.” (199) is not with Dad.
(232)  “His eyes were heavy, Reinforces the - Allusion
Darkness, shows the falling into sleep, and childhood innocence
unresolved trauma of Mum turned in her of Harry. o “‘I meant Coke,’
the past and its seat.” (186). - Characterisation Harry said, and tried
intrusion on the Reliving the trauma, to give the glass
present. piecing it together.  “He learnt his head back. ‘You’ll bloody
- Motif against his brother’s drink it.’ But it
- Tactile Imagery shoulder. He let wasn’t Jeff speaking
- Metaphor himself cry.” (237) now. It was Dad.”
‘Let himself cry’ (142)
implies that he had Toxic nature of
been holding it back, father, forcing son
forcing himself to. Harry to indulge in
- Visual imagery his addictions.

3. Students appreciate, explore, interpret, analyse, and evaluate the ways language is used to shape
these representations in a range of texts in a variety of forms, modes, and media:

4. Students explore how texts may give insight into the anomalies, paradoxes, and inconsistencies in
human behaviour and motivations, inviting the responder to see the world differently, to challenge
assumptions, ignite new ideas, or reflect personally:

o What are the ‘anomalies, paradoxes, and inconsistencies in human behaviour and motivations’ within
the text?

Anomalies:
o Harry (fears the ocean)
 The anomalous relationship that Harry has with the water is in direct contrast to his brothers. For
both Joe and Miles, the water is a place of freedom and escape from the difficulties of their lives.
However, Parrett conveys Harry as living in fear of the water.

Paradoxes:
o The Father and George
 George acts as the paternal figure for Harry, although he is not his father. Harry’s father is
contradictory to what we would believe to be a father. He is toxic and abusive in the place of
someone who is usually seen to be loving and caring.
o Family and Home
 Family has connotations of warmth, comfort, and security, which are represented as a paradox within
Parrett’s novel. Instead of encompassing these qualities, we are shown a family dynamic where fear
and danger are the norms endured by the brothers.

o Miles
 Miles is a paradox as by caring for his brother Harry, he neglects to care for himself.

Inconsistences:
o The Father’s Treatment of the Brothers
 The Father, who is usually abusive and violent towards Miles, has moments within the text where he
shows tenderness and care towards them, inconsistent with his previous behaviour.

o The Representation of the Ocean

 Within the text, the ocean is shown to be nurturing and liberating, while also being incredibly
dangerous and unforgiving. The representation of the ocean is inconsistent. The multifaceted nature
of the ocean. Depending on how well you know it, it can be incredibly calming and relaxing, or
dangerous and lethal.

o How are these ‘anomalies, paradoxes, and inconsistencies in human behaviour and motivations’
represented?

Anomalies:
o Harry (fears the ocean)
 Miles with Justin: “When did I forget about this?” (240 -242)
 “’I’m not scared of the water anymore!’ he said, ‘I’m not scared of the water!’” (222)
We see that fear acts in inhibiting individuals, fear acts in preventing individuals feeling loved when
they let it control them.
- Metaphor
- Motif

Paradoxes:
o The Father and George

o Family and Home

 Motif: recurring symbolism of warmth and cold used throughout the novel:
- Antithetical Framework
- Contrast
- Sensory imagery – tactile
 Setting: connotations of home, paradoxical to what we understand it to be

o Miles
 Focalisation: perspective and dual narrators
 Non-linear narration: flashbacks

Inconsistences:
o The Father’s Treatment of the Brothers
 “’You’ll bloody drink it.’ But it wasn’t Jeff speaking now. It was Dad.” (142).
Toxic nature of the father, forcing young son to indulge in his addictions, contrary to the image of a
father most people would have in their mind.
  “Dad never got him grilled fish. It was too expensive.” (169).
Inconsistent behaviour in that the father was giving them something expensive and being kind, when
he is usually violent and abusive.

o The Representation of the Ocean

 “The paddle was easy. The waves were easy. The ocean was at peace.” (45)
- Personification

 “But ultimately it wasn’t up to you. This ocean could hold you down for as long as it liked, and Miles
knew it.” (217)

o You need to consider the impact or effect of these in the following ways:
- See the world differently (what new perspectives are offered?
- To challenge assumptions (what assumptions are challenged from your engagement with the novel?
- Ignite new ideas (what new ideas do I consider because of the novel?
- Reflect personally (upon reflection, what do the anomalies, paradoxes and inconsistencies lead me to
better understand about myself and my world?)

Paradoxes:
- Father and George
o Through her paradoxical representations of paternal figures, Parrett is able to challenge the
idea of what makes a father, and further explore stereotypes surrounding family structure.
By representing George as the father figure to Harry, instead of his own father, Parrett can
challenge the audiences’ ideas surrounding paternal influences. George is described as
looking ‘monstrous’, while the father is the monster on the inside. The reader comes to
question if a father is made purely through their relation to the child, or if it is through the
treatment and care they show towards the child.

- Home and Family

o By representing the boy’s home as cold, dangerous, and unsafe, as well as characterising the
father as toxic, abusive, and violent, Parrett has used the paradoxical representation of home
and family to provide the audience with new perspectives or ideas or what they should be.
This challenges the readers preconceived ideas and invites them to consider new
perspectives, seeing that home is not always a nurturing and safe environment, and that
family may not always be loving and caring. The conflict within the family is contradictory to
the widely held ideas of what family is.

- Miles
o Miles accepts the burden and responsibility of caring for his younger brother Harry. It is in
the paradoxical representation of him shouldering this responsibility that we come to see
how Miles’ own self becomes neglected. In order to care for Harry, he becomes desensitised
to the violence and abuse that exists in the family. Parrett leads the readers to understand
the importance of tending to one’s own needs before being able to care for others.
Anomalies:
- Harry (fears the water)
o Harry is anomalous from his brothers as he fears the ocean, where as they find comfort and
liberation in being in the water, surfing. It is through this anomaly that Parrett is able to
provide the audience with a deeper understanding of the complexities of human nature and
behaviour. Harry struggles with the thought of even entering the water, a place where his
brothers find escape. This leads him to need to find another escape and sense of freedom,
such as searching for shark eggs and watching the cormorants. Harry’s place of escape is at
George’s house.
o The anomalous representation of Harry in contrast to his brothers acts in providing the
reader with a new idea on the role of relationships in providing a sense of escapism and
freedom from the world.
Inconsistences:
- The Father’s Treatment of the Brothers
o The father is a representation of the in consistencies in human behaviour and motivations.
We see the father as distant towards the boys and prone to acts of violence and abuse.
However, after Miles and Harry are abused by their father and Geoff, Miles experiences a
moment of tenderness from his father through the dinner he provides his son. This
behaviour is inconsistent with the neglect that is inherent within the father-son relationship.
The ‘tender’ action is the father’s way of seeking forgiveness of his son.

- The Representation of the Ocean

o The ocean is used by Parrett as a representation of the father and as inconsistences in
human behaviour. It is represented as both nurturing, safe, liberating, warm, calm, and as
being dangerous, unpredictable, dark, and cold. Parrett uses this representation of the ocean
as being inconsistent in order to mimic the actions of the father, to reveal the complexities of
human nature to the reader.

o Through the portrayal of paradoxes, anomalies, and inconsistencies of human motivation and
behaviour, Parrett allows her implied readers to understand the complex nature of the human
experience. The author seeks to reinforce that, whilst we may all undergo and face universal
experiences in our lives, the complexities of these mean that our individual (experience), and our
ability to confront and overcome these experiences, is often unique.

5. They may also consider the role of storytelling throughout time to express and reflect particular lives
and cultures.

o Why do we see storytelling as important? What does it provide us as a reader?

o How was storytelling deepened our understanding of the particular lives and cultures reflected in the
text?

6. By responding to a range of texts they further develop skills and confidence using various literary
devices, language concepts, modes and media to formulate a considered response to texts.

o This means that the more I respond to texts through the composition of essays or short answers, the
more confident I become in responding to new questions.

7. Students study one prescribed text and a range of short. Texts that provide rich opportunities to
further explore representations of human experiences illuminated in texts. They make increasingly
informed judgements about how aspects of these text, for example context, purpose, structure,
stylistic and grammatical features, and form shape meaning. In addition, students select one related
text and draw from personal experiences to make connections between themselves, the world of the
text and their wider world.

o This majority of the context within this ‘dot-point’ should have been addressed already in your notes
with the exception of ‘context’. Make an informed judgement as to how the ‘context’ within the text
has shaped our understanding of human experiences?

o What connections have you been able to make between yourself, ‘the world of the text and the wider
world’?
8. By responding and composing throughout the module students further develop a repertoire of skills
in comprehending, interpreting and analysing complex texts. They examine how different modes and
media use visual, verbal and/or digital language elements. They communicate ideas using figurative
language to express universal themes and evaluative language to make informed judgements about
texts. Students further develop skills in using metalanguage, correct grammar and syntax to analyse
language and express a personal perspective about a text.