The Broken Shore - Theme: Mental Illness

A pervasive theme in Peter Temple’s novel, mental illness is sympathetically portrayed through the struggles of the protagonist, Joe Cashin to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression gained as a result of witnessing a colleague die during an investigation into organised crime in Melbourne. Less sympathetic in their portrayal is the trauma experienced by a number of minor characters who suffered child abuse and who engage in seeking out the perpetrators and killing them. This resource outlines the extent of the issue of mental illness and asks students to make judgments on how effective they believe it has been dealt with.