Cathy Bruno Dr.

Thoens AP Composition Due December 19, 2011 Quotes on Silence and Identity in The Shipping News 1. Quoyle believed in silent suffering, did not see that it was goaded. He struggled to deaden his feelings, to behave well. A test of love. The sharper the pain, the greater the proof. If he could endure it now, if he could take it, in the end it would be alright (Proulx 16). This shows Quoyles ignorant justification of the fact that Petal does not love him at all. He naively believes that all relationships have their flaws and that if he perseveres, everything will work out for the best. However, their relationship is so broken and he ignores the fact that Petal does not want anything to do with him or their children. 2. I only want you, said Quoyle. Miserably. Pleading. Licking his cuff.(Proulx 16) This quote by Quoyle shows his own pathetic nature at the beginning of this novel. In the first couple pages of the novel, Proulx uses negative dreary adjectives in describing Quoyle. When he falls for Petal, this groveling nature comes out even more. He lets Petal do whatever she wants because he didnt mind as much if she stayed with him. 3. Quoyle was stunned. Hed explained that Petal was gone, that she was asleep and could never wake up, choking back his own grief, reading aloud from a book the undertaker had supplied, A Childs Introduction to Departure of a Loved One (Proulx 45). This quote emphasizes Quoyles inability to explain properly to his own kids. Even until the very near end of the book, Quoyle struggles with this grief about Petals death. Not only this, but he still doesnt acknowledge that even if it were possible, Petal wouldnt come back to him. 4. Quoyle came out of the office. Car wrecks. Stares at the tattered phone books. Quoyle! whispered Nutbeem. Ahoy, Quoyle, youre not going to go weepy on us, are you? (Proulx 69). This quote shows Quoyles lack of self- esteem. After Petal dies, he doesnt want anything to do with cars. He does not want to take this job. At the beginning of the next chapter, he directly says that he doesnt think that he can do it. Jack Buggits faith in Quoyle, however, will later pay off for both of them. 5. Tuesday, and Quoyle couldnt get started on the piece. He Shoved the page of rain-smeared notes on the Botterjacht under his pile of papers. He was used to reporting resolutions. (Proulx 128). This shows a sort of change in Quoyle. He accepts the challenge of a new writing piece even though he doesnt really like the people he was writing about. As the book goes along, he begins to push himself more as a member of society, a father, and as a writer.

6. Uneasiness came over him, that crawling dread of things unseenPointed sticks, hardened in the fire. Here is where Quoyle fully reflects on his family and his ancestry. He learns from many people during his stay in Killick-Claw about his family and he is ashamed and gradually removes himself from the mistakes that his family made. 7. You cut the guts out of this piece! You made it into a rotten cheap propaganda for the oil industry. You made me look like a mouthpiece for tanker interests. He pressed Card into his corner (Proulx 203). This part was when Quoyle really speaks up for the first time. He firmly believes in what he wrote and that he has done something right and he stands up for it. Card tries to frighten him with Jacks disapproval but Jack ends up liking his writing. He begins to believe that he is not actually the idiot that everyone believed he was. 8. Their silence comfortable. Something unfolding. But what? Not love, which wrenched and wounded. Not love, which came only once (Proulx 233). This part, I thought was important in showing that Quoyle has made an extraordinary transformation since the beginning. He is showing the right amount of caution toward love after what has happened in previous relationships, but this quote shows that he is still hurt by his past just as Wavey is. 9. And a few days later Quoyle gave Wavey a clear glass teapot, a silk scarf printed with a design of blueberries.He imagined she understood him, that she had to love him to know that it was the outstretched hands, the giving, that mattered (Proulx 281). It is here, in this telling of Christmas past, where Quoyle realizes how ridiculous he was in the past. He rationalized Petal giving him eggs for Christmas without a second thought. It was a good place to put this flashback, in comparison to the Christmas he now shared with friends and this woman he truly cared for, Wavey. 10. For is Jack Buggit could escape from the pickle jar, if a bird with a broken neck could fly away..And it may be that love sometimes occurs without pain or misery (Proulx 337). This is the culmination of Quoyles transformation. He has finally realized that his life altogether was made up of truly unfortunate circumstances and failed relationships. Through the friendships and relationships that he creates in Newfoundland, he has the epiphany stated in the very last sentence. What he has at the end, he realizes he never could have had with Petal. The healthy relationships he forms breaks the line he had with his relatives and their mistakes. By the end of the book, Quoyle has found himself and with it, his voice.