The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea" is a poignant exploration of the impact of World War II on the lives of its characters, particularly focusing on themes of innocence, trauma, and the struggle for identity. The story revolves around Rob Coram, a sensitive six-year-old who idolizes his cousin Rick Maplestead, a soldier who undergoes drastic changes after being captured in a prisoner of war camp. As Rob grows older, he grapples with the harsh realities of life and war, feeling a profound aversion to violence and a longing for the simplicity of childhood.
Rick, once a hopeful and charismatic figure, returns from war deeply scarred and embittered, struggling to reconnect with his family, including Rob, and facing challenges in his romantic relationship with Jane Wexford. Jane embodies the complexities of love and despair, as her inability to cope with Rick's trauma leads her to a suicide attempt, which further alienates him. In contrast, Hugh Mackay, another war survivor, adapts to post-war life more successfully, embodying a conventional path that Rick rejects.
Through these characters, the narrative captures the intricate interplay between personal experiences and broader societal changes, highlighting how war can irreparably alter relationships and individual aspirations. The exploration of their journeys offers insight into the lasting effects of conflict and the quest for meaning in a changed world.
The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Randolph Stow
First published: 1965
Genre: Novel
Locale: Geraldton, Western Australia, and its environs
Plot: Bildungsroman
Time: 1942–1949
Rob Coram, a six-year-old when his cousin Rick, whom he idolizes, is sent from their small town in Western Australia to fight in World War II. Rob is alive to his senses and grows up registering the colors, smells, and sounds of his small town and the differing sensations in the farm life of his grandparents. He learns about sex from young friends and about the war from the newspaper and from the foreign boats and immigrants coming into Geraldton, the harbor town where he lives. His most perplexing experience of war comes from studying his distraught cousin Rick when Rick returns home from Malaya. As Rob grows older after the end of the war, aging from ten to thirteen, he comes to hate killing animals. Although his perceptions change from those of a child to those of an adolescent, he remains sensitive, poetic, and reflective. His goal is to swim to the wrecked ship off the coast, which is to him the mysterious merry-go-round in the sea.
Rick Maplestead, the handsome, blond-haired, blue-eyed cousin of Rob Coram. He fights for Australia in World War II. Rick leaves home a cheery optimist but is humiliated, starved, and degraded in a prisoner of war camp in Malaya. When he returns to Geraldton, skinny and sick, he disappoints Rob and the family as the months pass because of his constant negative outlook and his unwillingness to develop a goal or to fit in. He is emotionally troubled; he curses and criticizes his country and makes a failure of an attempted romantic relationship with Jane Wexford. He continues his friendship with his young cousin Rob, preferring the simpler world of childhood to the more complex and disappointing world of adulthood. Ultimately, however, neither family nor homeland satisfies him. The novel ends with Rick bidding good-bye to both his cousin and his country.
Hugh Mackay, Rick's friend. He ships off with him to war and is captured with Rick and made a prisoner in the same camp in Malaya. Hugh becomes very discouraged and ill as a captive and almost dies; however, he survives and returns to Geraldton with Rick. Rick held up better in war, but Hugh is the better-adjusted survivor in peacetime. Hugh gets a law degree, buys a house in the suburbs, and dreams of golf. He becomes the model of adjustment and mediocrity that Rick despises.
Jane Wexford, Rick's attractive girlfriend. Jane is well meaning, but she has had no experience that could have prepared her to deal with the moody and malcontent Rick. Loving him, yet unable to satisfy him or hold him to her, Jane tries to kill herself but fails at the attempt. Instead of winning Rick back, Jane's attempted suicide and her obvious misery convince him never to see her again.