The Boy Behind The Curtain By Tim Winton

‘The Demon Shark: II Predator or Prey?’ embodies the ecocriticism literary nature of ‘The Boy Behind the Curtain’ with Tim Winton maintaining a ruthless frontier attitude to the preservation of the environment by pointing out the unfair “[routine vilification]” of sharks, which has led to most of them “[disappearing] globally without an outcry”. In this particular passage, Winton disapproves of the media variously describing the shark as “a terrorist” and “an insidious threat”, even though we are “far more likely to die on the toilet”, or in a car accident, or from a bee sting than from a shark encounter. Winton draws parallels between the prejudice against sharks and discrimination in human society, influencing my creative response regarding

Winton wants to protect sharks, not only because they are a crucial part of our ecosystem, but because they are unfairly stigmatised compared to other species like bees who are more prominent threats since they “kill many more Australians than do sharks every year, but there is no war on bees”. Having interacted with sharks personally and seeing their actual “sociable, even playful” nature, he seeks to tear down the false “insidious” image of sharks that have been embedded into “our collective conscience” by “politicians and shock jocks” so that sharks get the justice and fair treatment they deserve. Winton laments at the lack of empathy, particularly towards “blokes” “who rarely get their hair wet”. He condemns the public's over-dramatic reaction to shark attacks compared to the widespread and more common deaths caused by car accidents. He depicts bodies as “disarticulated” and “blood [staining] the lawns and streets” implying that “being mangled in a car is something we’ve domesticated”, showcasing how people can become desensitised “most common form of violent death” that happens closer to home, compared to the possibility of a shark encounter. Through his powerful portrayal of the “war” on sharks,

Winton uses this metaphor to highlight the prejudice and discrimination sharks face in the “coastal communities” with the “barbaric trade in shark fin [continuing] to prosper”, paralleling the unfair treatment of sharks with the unjust treatment of individuals or groups in society. Seeing as the metaphorical ‘shark’ represents targeted marginalised groups, this influenced my creative response, ‘Against the Current’, in which I drew a connection between the fear-mongering against sharks by “news media” and the stigmatisation of the transgender community as “insidious” “aliens” by conservative media outlets like ‘The Australian’. In queer culture, the shark is a popular transgender icon because, as Winton would put it, the shark is a symbolic metaphor for how “there are as many ways to be a shark as there are to be a human”. The quote could be interpreted as Winton’s call for acceptance and understanding of diversity in all forms, challenging stereotypes, and highlighting that every living being, whether human or shark, has their own unique qualities, experiences, and ways of existing in the world. This brings forth Winton’s core message of the novel which encourages embracing the richness of the natural world, warning that a