This page contains information about the main characters in the novel Blueback
Characterisation - SAAO Model
Consider how Tim Winton constructs his characters through their speech, action, appearance and interactions with other characters. How does this influence your understanding and opinion of the character?
Speech -
What does the character say, think and feel?
Actions -
How does the character act in different situations?
Appearance -
How is the character described in terms of their physical attributes, clothing and facial expressions?
Others -
How does the character treat others?
Quotes from the book that say a lot about each character...
Abel Jackson
"Abel loved being underwater. He was ten years old and could never remember a time when he could not dive. His mother said he was a diver before he was born; he floated and swam in the warm ocean inside her for nine months, so maybe it came naturally" (page 3).
"In time he became and expert, someone foreign governments invited for lectures and study tours, but inside he still felt like a boy with a snorkel staring at the strange world underwater, wishing he knew how it worked. Blueback still swam through his dreams" (page 117).
Blueback
"All its armoured scales rippled in lines of green and black blending into the dizziest blue. The groper moved without the slightest effort. It was magnificent, the most beautiful thing Abel had ever seen" (page 8).
Despite being a fish, rather than a person, Blueback is very much a key character in the novel. The fish has a profound impact on Abel and Nora's lives. "Every day was special, his mother always told him this, but it all became much more precious the day he first shook hands with old Blueback" (page 10).
Blueback is also described by the author as having distinct moods. "Some days the fish didn't show. Other days he was nervy and distant, but often he was simply bold, even mischievious" (page 35).
Mad Macka
Mad Macka is an abalone diver who shares Abel and Dora's love of and respect for the ocean. "When she told Mad Macka he smiled and said he knew all about it. They needn't worry, he said, old Blueback was safe with him" (page 36).
Mad Macka is daring and passionate about his work. "'It's not safe out there alone,' said Abel's mother. 'Not like that, using a Hookah on your own with all that abalone meat in the water. He should have an offsider, he's crazy'" (page 38).
Dora Jackson
"When Abel got back to the house he could hear his mother clanking around in the shed. She was working on the diesel generator with grease all up her arms. His mother was a good mechanic. She kept the truck and the outboard going on her own. She said every engine was just a puzzle to solve" (page 19)
“It was true, she wasn’t like other people. She certainly wasn’t like his schoolmates’ mothers. Other mothers bought fashionable clothes and drove flash cars and chirped like birds. Abel’s mother was quiet and tough and sun-streaked. She did things differently. Her hands were lined and calloused. She looked like the land and sea had made her.” (page 71-2)
Stella
"Abel Jackson met a girl who loved the sea. She was sleek as a seal and funny. Her hair was black and shiny. She grew up in a desert and didn’t see the ocean until she was twelve years old. Her name was Stella" (page 110).
"Abel Jackson became a marine biologist married to another marine biologist. WIth Stella he travelled and studied, diving in all the oveans and seas of the world" (page 117)
Costello
"'Costello,' said his mother. 'The abalone diver. He's a hard case.'...'It's not just Blueback I'm worried about, said his mother. 'It's the whole bay. People say he takes everything he sees' (page 66).
When Abel discovers more about Costello and his business he "went back to school in the new year feeling older, different. That summer he learnt that there was nothing in nature as cruel and savage as a greedy human being" (page 89).