While the Billy Boils · Chapter
Rats explained
Three shearers—Sunlight, Macquarie, and Milky—come upon an old man named Rats who appears to be fighting his own swag.
What happens
Three shearers—Sunlight, Macquarie, and Milky—come upon an old man named Rats who appears to be fighting his own swag. They humor him by staging a mock boxing match between Rats and the swag, which Rats wins. Afterward, Rats fishes imaginatively on dry land, catching imaginary cod and bream. The shearers give him food and money before leaving him still fishing and later quarreling with his swag again.
Themes in this chapter
Humor and Irony
The shearers humor Rats by staging a mock boxing match with his swag and later watching him fish on dry land, highlighting the absurdity and dark comedy of bush life.
Hardship and Poverty
Rats is dressed in patched calico, begs for meat, and lives in delusion, reflecting the extreme poverty and isolation of itinerant bush workers.
The Bush and Isolation
The story is set on a lonely, hot plain where the only entertainment is a mad old man fighting his swag, emphasizing the isolation and monotony of the bush.
Characters to notice
- Sunlight
One of the three shearers; has the best eyesight and orchestrates the mock fight with Rats.
- Macquarie
A big shearer who supports Rats in the mock fight and hurries to see the supposed fight.
- Milky
A tall, thin young jackeroo; acts as timekeeper and referee for the mock fight.
- Old Rats
A withered old man in calico patches who fights his swag and fishes for imaginary fish on the dry plain.
Key passages
“Why, there’s two of them, and they’re having a fight! Come on.”
Look, two people are fighting over there! Let's go see.
Sunlight spots what he thinks is a fight and urges the others to hurry.
“I fell out with my swag, that’s all. He knocked me down, but I’ve settled him.”
I had a quarrel with my swag. It knocked me down, but I got the better of it.
Rats explains his fight with his swag as if it were a real opponent.
“It weighs thirty pound if it weighs an ounce! Wot yer think o’ that for a cod? The hook’s halfway down his blessed gullet!”
This fish must weigh thirty pounds! What do you think of that cod? The hook is deep in its throat.
Rats boasts about an imaginary fish he has caught on the dry plain.