Task for Vertigo Analysing characters: The Boy
The Boy
Pages Quotes from text
Once they make a plan to research the places
and then go out away from the city, the boy
suddenly appears.
10 And to their great delight, on each of these
journeys the boy chose to accompany them. In
the claustrophobic spaces of their dark little
apartment his appearances were erratic and
unpredictable, but once out on the freeway
they would glance behind them and there he
would be…that dreamy, expectant expression
that children get when they are travelling to
an unknown destination.
11 The turn-off led straight to a wild beach and as
they caught their first glimpse of breaking surf
the boy suddenly sat upright. Roused from his
torpor on the back seat he craned his neck to
see out, and wriggling free of his seatbelt
scrambled up onto the seat to press his
face against the window.
17 While they unpacked, the boy prowled through
the house on his own so that they could hear
the squeak of doors along the hallway and the
creak of floorboards as he peered into the
corner of the empty rooms. He was way
ahead of them, and he was restless.
22 …Luke has strung up a rainbow-striped hammock Symbols of happiness- ‘rainbow striped’, ‘enveloped in
and sometimes they look out on a still day and its folds’ suggests nature is as a nurturer and the bringer
see the hammock swinging wildly and they know of happiness
that the boy is enveloped in its folds.
Significance of quotes – What does it reveal
about character and how does the language
reflect this?
The boy, representative of loss, cannot exist in the
city because it is a place of business and
distraction where people suppress their emotions.
The implication is that the country/coast in its vast
open spaces and quiet moments will demand
transparency of emotions and we see that build
up over the course of the novella.
Anthesis – the boy has been trapped in the city-
representative of how Luke and anna have been trapped
in their grief. The suggestion of freedom and the positive
expression on the boy’s face as they head towards
nature, suggests this will be a place of freedom where
Luke and Anna can overcome their grief.
Tone of longing – the boy longs to connect with the
natural world. He is roused from his torpor- he will now
be able to begin to assist Luke and Anna in overcoming
their grief.
Active verbs eg ‘prowled’, ‘peered’ and onomatopoeia
‘creak’ accentuate the boy’s restlessness. He has not yet
connected with his new environment – reflects Luke and
Anna’s disconnection from the environment
 Sometimes the boy looks like an angel, polished The boy is a creature of nature – he will help Anna and
by the sun, but today he is a bush urchin; on his Luke cope with their grief and move on in life.
left shin is a large purple bruise and his air is
matted with dirt.

On some evenings the boy comes with them, Symbolism of water and black swans- the relationship
sitting deep in the canoe on the floor between between Anna and Luke has been truncated – they are
their knees. He seems to like being on the water, not ready to move on – the water is static, not flowing.
except when the swans are near.

Chapter 2
She gets up and walks to his room at the end of the High modality – ‘he will return’, ‘he always does’ -
hallway but the bed is empty. Still, she is not alarmed; reinforces her attachment to the boy
she knows he will return. He always does.

But the most disturbing thing is this: here in the city Tone of worry – suggestion that in order to connect with
there has been no sign of the boy. the boy, Anna must reconnect with nature

Chapter 3
This child of their loins, only seven and a half months Formal diction ‘this child of their loins’ and emotive
old, dead in the womb; their dearest boy whose language emphasises the extent of their pain. Symbolism
heartbeat had one day stopped, lapsed into silence, of silence- reinforces their disconnection and inability to
with his parents unaware, thinking that all was well, deal with their loss and grief.
that nature was taking its course. Irony – nature is not always nurturing.

And yes, it is him, it’s the boy, and he she sees now
that the sloop is for him, is waiting to carry him, is
waiting to carry him to his next destination.