Deadly Unna, Is Gary a Gutless Wonder?

In the novel “Deadly Unna?” written by Phillip Gwynne, the protagonist in the story, Gary Black, is referred to as a ‘gutless wonder’ on many occasions. Gary is faced with challenges and decisions, which define him and determine whether or not he is in fact a ‘gutless wonder’, this being one of the worst things you can possibly be in his town. Evidently he proves to his father, the town and finally himself that he is not a ‘gutless wonder’ after all.
The most influential and important person in Gary’s life is his father, Bob Black, and Garry feels the need to prove to him that he is not gutless. The first time Gary is called a ‘gutless wonder’ is on a boat fishing incident with his father, “My own son a gutless wonder, a gutless fucking wonder.” In addition to this Gary invites his father to his football grand final in Wangaroo, ‘I don’t know, maybe I wanted to show him that I wasn’t a gutless wonder after all.’ Although Gary leads the team to victory his old man doesn’t show, but he finds out soon enough that his son is considered a hero in the town and shakes Gary’s hand for his gutsy effort, even though Gary knows he did nothing to deserve it.
Gary shows courage when he defies the unwritten rules of the Port in befriending a ‘Nunga’, Dumby Red. At first Gary is hesitant in their relationship because he is afraid of what his friends, family and the town might think, yet he ignores everyone else and becomes friends with Dumby. This is particularly evident when Dumby dies and despite anyone else’s opinions “I didn’t care what anyone said, tomorrow I was going to Dumby’s funeral.” Gary sees no-one else supports his decision, and even considering his father gave him a second chance to redeem himself, by going fishing on the boat again, he still makes the decision to go to the funeral.
The next event is when Gary stands up to his father; when he wants to paint over the “BOONGS PISS OFF” graffiti on the shed. “I am getting more and more ashamed” he