In the short story, “The Rip”, author Robert Drewe uses the idea of Sophie holding a jellyfish “at arms length” to display how she is becoming wary of her father, John, and is keeping him distanced from herself. he reassures her, as if he was trying to reassure himself that their relationship will not become an “anecdote”, but a reality. John is thinking about how he wants to be freed from his emotional turmoil, and how badly he wants to spend this quality time with his daughter and protect her. This “protection” is symbolised by the shark attack (the divorce of John and his wife), and the fear running through everyones minds. This makes the reader feel as if John is putting pressure on himself to make Sophie like him. He looks calm on the