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Cockleshell

'The Turning' by Tim Winton

A possible reading of the story 'Cockleshell'

A possible reading of the story 'Cockleshell'

The short story 'Cockleshell' written by Tim Winton can ...

The short story 'Cockleshell' written by Tim Winton can be thought to represent the thin veil that the characters use to cover their fragile, unstable lives and how both the main characters see nature as a way of temporary escape through the use of the sublime language and imagery/setting

What are cockleshells?

Cockleshells are small shells that can be found in murky shallow water and can easily be missed unless you're looking for them

"Murky, shallow water" can be a representation of the life that Agn...

"Murky, shallow water" can be a representation of the life that Agnes is living: a thin unknown life that Brakey soon discovers and tries to find out more about

The title of the story also refers to a type of burrowing clam found in nature. This could reflect the characters of Brakey and Agnes, as they also use the soft sand of the beach to hide.

The audience only knows what Brakey knows as the story is to...

The audience only knows what Brakey knows as the story is told through Brakey's POV: that Agnes's father is an alcoholic, and he's now only somewhat 'recovering'

The audience and Brakey soon find out that she's trying to esca...

The audience and Brakey soon find out that she's trying to escape and goes fishing to temporarily escape reality

Examples/quotes

Examples/quotes

Examples/quotes where the characters try to escape the...

Examples/quotes where the characters try to escape their everyday lives through nature or other ways and means

  • "It takes a week or more before Brakey admits it to himself…." - trying to escape from himself and any out of the ordinary thoughts that he might have that society might not approve of
  • "…the she's gone behind the curve of the point. He feels a pang of loss." - maybe he feels sad because he's lost his ticket to a new life and now he'll have to return to one that he's used to and doesn't like anymore
  • "Agnes Larwood will have to be a secret"
  • "They all run away in the end" - Brakey's mum seems to think that the only way to escape the town is to die

Examples/quotes where the characters seem to hide away fr...

Examples/quotes where the characters seem to hide away from their life in town

  • "Orange light glows on her calves" - at any given point in time in the story, Winton only describes certain parts of Agnes's body or certain characteristics
  • "He hunkers down in the dark" - Brakey always hides in the dark to watch Agnes fish: that could mean that he's trying to not be found but it could also be because he wants to keep this secret for himself

Setting

Setting

The beach is portrayed as calm and alive, whereas the houses are portrayed as stagnant and dying.

The Beach

The Beach

  • The tide and the shallows can be portrayed as a symbol of calm.
  • ‘...she moves slowly...’
  • ‘...water folds away from her shins in silence...’
  • ‘...she goes all still...’
  • Everything is all calm, there's not a lot of movement, it's quiet, controlled, restful
  • The sunset light is serene – sublime?
  • Went further along the beach it could be ‘noisy and perilous’ but he doesn’t, so it isn’t
  • ‘clear, sandy flats’
  • ‘he’s so absorbed by the little flashes of static electricity
  • it’s all very tranquil, calm, and slow.

The Houses

The Houses

  • ‘her face is shut down’ – Brakey’s Mum – Hostility, death
  • ‘settles himself into the silence she’s prepared for him
  • ‘with… every mute chink of cutlery, is that he too will leave her high and dry,’
  • mute, subdued, stale
  • ‘becalmed, subdued, as though the life is mostly gone from them’
  • ‘there’s nothing left’ (about Agnes’s Father, who could be considered entwined with the setting because he is always in the house)

Putting it all together

Brakey often escapes to the beach at night to seek refuge fr...

Brakey often escapes to the beach at night to seek refuge from the silent house and his mother and the 'look of reproach she gives him' as well as the 'assumption in every glance' that he will soon leave her alone as she believes everybody does. His walks along the beach appear to be a way for Brakey to forget everything and simply relax in the 'moonless dark' and 'the shadows of peppermints'. Brakey also uses nature to calm him down or heal when he is angry and mentions that the peppermint leaf smell medicinal and he often loses track of time when he is at the beach

Agnes also uses nature as an escape from the reality of her li...

Agnes also uses nature as an escape from the reality of her life. She uses nature as a way to pass time and get away form her house/family which she describes as being "...like a cemetery". Agnes spends her time at the beach "stickin' fish" as a 'hobby' but doesn't seem to find as much relaxation and confort through nature and instead appears to simply view it as a way to get away. Agnes is the main example of hiding away as it is mentioned that the Larwood family used to come to Brakey's house to seek refuge when Eri Larwood was drunk. However this stopped and Agnes seemed reluctant to tell Brakey how the situtation had changed and they no longer saw each other as often as they did when they were younger. The beach now appears to be Agnes's replacement for this refuge which she visits every night.

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