The shark Net

The Shark Net: Themes


In his memoir; The shark Net, Robert Drewe reflects on his journey from childhood to adulthood in Perth. Revealing both the darker and lighter manner of life, including homicide, fear, hypocrisy, family reputation and class distinction. These are the main themes in his memoir, Drewe expresses the themes through clever use of symbols and vocabulary.

Drewe establishes his major themes of murder, evil and impending danger, in the frontispiece and the prologue. Quotation from both Brecht and Ionesco produce a sinister tone, especially the song ‘Mac the knife’, which almost foreshadows the numerous murders featured in the book. Ionesco’s quote is from the theatre of the absurd, which stresses the absurdity of bourgeoisie or in this case the values of the middle class, and the life style they lead, this connects to the theme of class distinction and hypocrisy. The quote: ‘You can only predict things after they have happened’ may be seen as a summary o...