A swivel chair (symbol)
A swivel chair is associated with a traditional office and the chair from “The Shipping News” is not an exception. “A swivel chair with one arm” is a symbol of Quoyle’s low position at the newspaper. Quoyle doesn’t even know what he is expected to do. The only thing he is sure about is that he wants him “to sit tight and wait until he’s back.” That is going to be a dull and absolutely uninspiring job.
An old family house (allegory)
An old family house is allegory of blood relationships. As soon as Quoyle returns to his ancestors’ home, he realizes that his ancestors’ “filthy blood” runs “in his veins” too. He tries very hard to run away from that connection, from his family, from that cruelty that is so characteristic of them but fails. He has “never thought to go” to a place that “generated his ancestors”, but a life is a tricky thing. The man has to understand that neither his family’s old house neither blood relations define his life.
A chance for a happy life (Motif)
Quoyle couldn’t believe that he could be as happy as other people, for his father and siblings were rather generous with insults and beatings. They used to call him “Lardass, Snotface, Ugly Face, Warthog, Stupid, Stinkbomb, Fart-tube, Greasebag” and that made him be unsure of himself. Many years from those day, Quoyle learns how to live happily, realizes that “even a bird with a broken neck could fly away” and that everything is possible.
