Under The Eyes: Quoyle’s Rebirth In The Shipping News

The Shipping News is the1994Pulitzer Prize winning novel by E. AnnieProulx. Its story is centered on a marginalized urban male adult whosesurname is Quoyle. The protagonist has experienced countless setbacks andbreakdowns in his life until he moves to Newfoundland for a new start. Thewhole story ends in Quoyle’s rebirth in Newfoundland. However, there is astrong sense of dark humor in the happy ending, which results in differentopinions on Proulx’s intention of writing this novel. This research uses thegaze theory to explore and discuss the author’s intention by looking into theentire journey of Quoyle’s rebirth, namely the leading storyline of this novel.Through this research, it can be concluded that Quoyle’s leavingAmerica and rebirth in Newfoundland are driven by the operation of the gazemechanism. It is the oppressive gaze that forces Quoyle to leave America fora new life. And it is the eye of faith, love and loyalty in the Newfoundlandcommunity that makes him stay there. However, as far as Newfoundland’stough natural environment and the gaze from the Canadian federalgovernment are concerned, Newfoundland is never depicted as a utopian land.Under the shadow of the gaze, Quoyle’s rebirth is just a “blind” happiness. Inspite of that,“blind” happiness is still happiness, as sarcastic as the real life could be.Therefore, The Shipping News is not a fairy tale, as some critics believe,at all, and Proulx’s intention can never be just telling a happy ending story toadults. Through research, Proulx’s intention of writing this novel can besummed up in three aspects: First, she conveys her worry about the livingsituation of those marginal groups in big cities; second, she proposes afeasible way out for those marginalized urban groups, and at the same timepays tribute to the “back-to-the-land” movement; third, she suggests a lifeattitude to her three sons, in the hope that they will never be intimidated bytheir past as well as their future.