The Shipping News

The Shipping News: characters

Let's look at some key characters in The Shipping News.

Quoyle

Quoyle is the main character and changes the most as the narrative progresses. At the novel's beginning, he is lonely, obese, and miserable. His lack of confidence allows him to be treated cruelly by his wife, Petal. Once Quoyle moves to Newfoundland with his daughters, the opportunity for a new life arises. Quoyle begins writing for a newspaper, builds his confidence, and tackles his family's uncomfortable past. In doing so, he creates a more stable future for himself and his family.

Sunshine and Bunny

Both Sunshine and Bunny dearly love their Father. They are one of Quoyle's major reasons for confronting and solving his problems. Sunshine is the youngest daughter and is relaxed and mellow, while Bunny, the eldest daughter, is more emotionally anxious than her sister. Bunny is also afraid, as she keeps seeing a white dog that no one else can.

Agnis Hamm (the aunt)

The aunt is Quoyle's father's sister. She is determined, bold, and motivational. The aunt pushes Quoyle to move to Newfoundland to help him because she understands the trauma he has been through. She experienced trauma when Quoyle's father sexually assaulted her at a young age.

Billy Pretty

Billy symbolises the old way of life. He is a second cousin to Jack, works at the local newspaper, and is a fisherman. As a traditional local of Newfoundland, Billy misses the past, a time before powerful companies took over the fishing industry.

Jack Buggit

Jack is the editor of the newspaper, and, like his second cousin, Billy, is a fisherman at heart. Jack often skips work to fish, but still runs his paper with authority.

The Shipping News: setting

The Shipping News is set in Newfoundland, which is an island near the far north-eastern corner of Canada. The rough waters of Newfoundland are treacherous, and play a major role in the play's narrative.

Fig. 1 - Newfoundland coast.

Furthermore, as Newfoundland is historically a town that relies on local industries like fishing, Proulx shows how large-scale operations can impact men who make their living through small-scale business.

The Shipping News: analysis

The primary focus of The Shipping News, and the main concern that all other themes link to, is that of change. The novel sets up its protagonist, Quoyle, at his lowest point, and follows his journey to better himself and create a more promising future for his family. The history of his family is a source of shame for Quoyle. His father was an abusive rapist, and his ancestors were murderous, drunks, and generally unpleasant.

The trauma caused by Quoyle's upbringing foreboded the shy, unconfident adult he would become, making him more susceptible to his emotionally abusive, psychologically manipulative relationship with ex-girlfriend Petal. Despite the harrowing pain Quoyle endures, he still manages to find the good in himself and others and comes out feeling more confident and self-assured.

The changes that Quoyle experiences in his life are mirrored both thematically and symbolically throughout the novel. Quoyle's family home is the opposite of change – a sturdy reminder of his dark heritage that only collapses into the water once Quoyle has changed for the better and left his past behind. On a broader scale, technological change begins to affect smaller businesses, and characters tell stories of a way of life that is now lost. Change, both sudden and gradual, is at the heart of The Shipping News, and all characters are impacted by it.

The Shipping News: themes

Let's look in more detail at the concept of change by looking at some of the themes that relate to it.

Ancestry

The novel sets up multiple generations of Quoyle's family, allowing Proulx to emphasise the effects that generations have on one another. Quoyle's parents mistreat him, his ancestors are portrayed to be murderous, and Nolan reveals that his father raped his aunt when she was young. In showing a history of tragedy and trauma, Proulx also shows that Quoyle can break the chain of malice and abuse within his family for generations. By travelling to Newfoundland, the home of his ancestors, Quoyle is also travelling back to his past, where he can confront his dark family heritage, heal himself and create a future free from abuse for his daughters.

The family home

For Quoyle, the house is a constant link to his ancestry, and therefore a continuous link to his family's dark history. As the house is chained to the rock, it cannot be moved, and must forever remain, anchoring itself as a permanent reminder of the chain of abuse that has lasted for generations. Once Quoyle breaks this abusive chain, the chains to the house also break, and it falls into the water. Symbolically, the link to the old world has been shattered, and a new, brighter future can finally be built for Quoyle and his family.

Technological change

In the novel, larger international companies begin to make their way into Newfoundland, both in search of oil and to replace small fishing businesses with larger-scale operations. Many local fishermen are left behind with no feasible way of keeping up. Annie Proulx depicts the social effects of large-scale technological change on the individual. Cod and gulls are lost to oil spills, and fish supplies are at a devastating low. Fishermen like Jack Buggit and Billy Pretty cannot compete with huge yearlong operations and are left without purpose, longing for a return to a simpler past.