IOC Breath Questions

8/11/2019 IOC Breath Questions

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How emotionally or intellectually satisfying did you find the conclusion of the

novel?

I found Wintons conclusionintellectually satisfying, however not as emotionally

satisfying.

Intellectually the conclusion was satisfying as it closed all the loose ends about

where all the characters stood later on within their lives, as well as the significance

of how Pikelets teenage years had impacted his entire life in many areas like;

causing his marriage to end in divorce, Pikelet having to go to a mental institute, and

his career choice.

Emotionally the conclusion was not as satisfying as I hoped, as the last chapter felt

more like a checklist rather than an account of the results of his childhood, and was

quite abrupt with its context. I believe that the main reason that I did not find the

ending quite as emotionally satisfying as I wished, because its an extremely sad

ending. He has lost everything, and has not a lot of hope. The checklist is more of a

checklist of each person that has left him, and the problems he has faced. EveryoneI know is dead. Or gone (257).

While I found Wintons conclusion intellectually satisfying, I did not find it as

emotionally satisfying.Intellectually the conclusion was satisfying as it closed all the loose ends about

where the storys characters stood later on in their lives. It also showed the how

significantly Pikelets teenage years impacted his entire life in various areas. For

example, it contributed in his marriage ending in divorce, in Pikelet having to go to a

mental institution, as well as his career choice.

Emotionally, the conclusion was not as satisfying as I had hoped, as the last chapter

felt more like a checklist rather than an account of how his childhood affected his

adulthood, and was quite abrupt with its context (what do you mean with this?). I,

however, believe that the main reason that I did not find the ending quite as

emotionally satisfying as I wished was because it is an extremely sad ending. He has

lost everything and has very little hope. I find that the ending almost seems like a list

of each person that has left him, and of all the problems he has faced. This can be

seen in the quotation: Everyone I know is dead. Or gone (257).


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How powerfully or not would you say the setting affected the events or

action of the novel?

Wintons choice of setting Breath on the coast of Western Australia extremely

important as the book is greatly surrounded by the ocean and water. The small town

of Sawyer, near Angelus was extremely well located as it created enough of a

distance between the town and the ocean for the ocean to be a place of mystery,

however still close enough for Pikelet and Loonie to gain an interest towards

surfing. The town was far enough to be tempting for Pikelet and Loonie to leave

their Surfboards at Sando and Evas place, resulting in their friendship forming.This

is the source of Pikeletsdifficult adulthood. The pathway and road to the ocean is

symbolic of traveling the road by him, as well as the separation from his parents

allowing Pikelet to grow as a character. The separation between Sando and Evas

house also played a symbolic role in showing the separation between the two

different lifestyles more prominent.

Wintons choice of setting Breath on the coast of Western Australia is very

important as a focus of the book in on the ocean and water. The small town of

Sawyer, near Angelus was a good setting for the story as it created enough of a

distance between the town and the ocean for the ocean to be a place of mystery. Yet,

it is still close enough for Pikelet and Loonie to gain an interest in surfing. The

distance between the ocean and their town is also great enough so that, for

convenience sake, they leave their surfboards at Sando and Evas place. This sparks

the friendship between Pikelet, Loonie and Sando, which becomes a driving force of

the story, but is also a source of Pikelets difficult adulthood. The journey to the

ocean is symbolic of traveling the road by him becoming independent from his

disapproving parents, as well as the separation from his parents allowing Pikelet to

grow as a character. The separation between Pikelets home and the home of Sando

and Eva also plays a symbolic role in showing the separation between the two

different lifestyles.

Did you think any profound human truths are being considered in this novel

or do you see its main purpose as keeping an audience interested in human

behavior?

Winton foregrounds many profound human truths within this text. One of these isthe importance and significance that a persons childhood/teenage years can have on

their later life.

This is most pronominally seen through Pikelets character. The relationship Pikelet

had with Eva, Loonie and Sando created his need for thrill and risks within his life,

which influenced Pikelet to become a paramedic. He becomes addicted to

adrenaline, and it lasts throughout his entire life. This is shown when Jodie and


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Bruce are in the ambulance and Jodie is speeding. I feel good, when the nerve-ends

are singing, the gut tight with anticipation (1).

His relationship with Eva was the main cause of his troubles within his marriage,

which ended in a divorce. Because of how incredibly messed up their relationship

was, he was robbed of his childhood years. He loved Eva, while she was having the

affair with Bruce in order to revenge against Sando.

His parents had a major effect in Pikelet being a closed-off, quieter character. A bad

communicator, a closed book (21).

Another reason why he was such a closed book, was because of Sando taking Loonie

instead of him to Indonisia. While Bruce was with Sando, he felt confident and

happy, but as soon as Sando was gone he crumbled to pieces, which shows how the

confidence was just an illusion.

Which fictional character did you find most interesting? Can you account for

that effect based on some choices you see that the writer has made inconstructing the character?

I found Wintons construction of Loonies' character extremely interesting, as every

time we encounter Loonies character within the book, his character gets build up

further. It seams that his character is build in a very specific manner, where all the

events within the book build to his outcome. It is obvious how damaged he is from

the start of the book, having had his mom, and stepmother leave him, as well as

having his father beat him. We as readers get set out to have a sympathetic outlook

towards his character, in hope that he might have a miracle happen which will make

him become a good person. The fact that Winton sets his life to crumble and him

dying in a bar in Mexico because of a drug deal gone bad, brings a more realistic

tone towards the novel, as well as showing how damaging the addiction to

adrenaline, as well as how damaging the childhood/teenage years of a persons life

can be.

.

What aspects of Wintons writing did you find most striking?

The aspect of Wintons writing I found most striking washow imagery rich each and

every page is. He builds such a strong image within our minds of each section of the

book. The way he builds his characters is also extremely impressive. Each character,even if they seem very basic and unimportant, has such a significant role and change

in the outcome of his life. An example of this is Queenie. Her role within the book

shows how he was not ready or interested in relationships with girls yet. He

became Queenies boyfriend Without consultation (97) and suspected that (He)

only really liked her because she (liked) me first (96). This is further reinforced

when Queenie dumps him and (he) did (his)best to take it badly but in truth (he)


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was relieved) (132). This reinforces the idea that Eva took advantage of him at such

a vulnerable age.

How enthusiastic were you about the novel in the opening pages or

paragraphs?

While first reading the opening pages I was not very enthusiastic about the book, as

I was extremely confused as I was extremely confused. I felt as if Winton was

keeping secrets from the readers, which made it difficult for me to connect with

Bruces character. The fact that he did not share his thoughts on why the boy had

not intentionally hung himself made me feel as if Winton was keeping secrets from

the readers, which made it difficult for me to connect with Bruces character. This

however changed as the book went on as when I realized what happened to the boy

at the beginning, it really brought the book together and made me have a moment of

clarification. I was also turned of the book because of the lack of quotation marks, asit was a new concept for me, however I noticed the significance of them to create a

more smooth reading experience, almost as if we where flowing like the waves

within the book.

One thing, which I did enjoy about the opening pages, is how dramatic it is, as this

drew my attention to the book, and hypnotized me to keep reading.

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IOC Breath Questions