A commentary on 'The Water was Deep and Went Forever Down' by Tim Winton
by
cmarionp94 (student)
A commentary ‘The water was deep and it went forever down’ by Tim Winton
This short passage, taken from the story ‘The Water was Dark and it went forever Down’ from Tim Winton’s anthology ‘Minimum of Two’ Winton explores the themes of normality, isolation and self devaluation. The passage plays out through the eyes of a young girl who appears as strong minded yet broken from events of the past, almost like a bystander in her own life. This passage betrays a strong sense of suffering on both mental and physical and also hints to larger themes of caged existence and the recurring theme in the anthology, of a minimum of two. It is through the use of nature that Winton develops his key ideas and sends more powerful messages in this text.
The curve of the bay in the first line gives the idea that she is enclosed, trapped inside this tiny area of land that she can’t escape which inturn only enhance the idea of the small island that’s off shore and almost portrayed as an unreachable haven for the girl who’s life in this town has always been marred by the past with her troubled mother’s issues or the abandonment of her father. The use of the environment in this passage is very typical of the work Winton does using the environment to reflect the feelings and emotions of the characters, particularly those emotions that are sadder or more discrete.
