Theme: Small Town Secrets

Peter Temple’s novel, The Broken Shore deals with the issue of the complex issues around small town secrets. From the protagonist, Joe Cashin suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, to the issues of police corruption and the historic operation of a pedaphile ring, characters discover secrets and use these for their own advantages. This resource outlines the many secrets held by the Port Monro community and the dangers these secrets can have. This resource also provides students with an outline of the themes in the parallel text, Joseph Conrad’s Nostromo, and invites comparison of the issues.