Bernard Mac Laverty’s Cal

1061 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How violence is used as a tool in literature

In Bernard Mac Laverty’s novel Cal, the author sheds light on the conflict in Northern Ireland through a nineteen year old Catholic named Cal. This ideological war has devastating and detrimental effects on all involved especially Cal. Cal is a victim of this war as he is thrown into it and expected to react. As this violent war is surrounding Cal, he is also facing another type of conflict: an internal one. This internal conflict is a result of Cal’s psychological well being and results in self loathing and grueling emotional torment. Cal’s guilt ridden conscience haunts him and causes grave psychological affliction. These two forces causes him to act in ways contrary to his own beliefs and desires, produces tragic and grave consequences, and causes him to be dissociated from reality.

Events occur in Cal’s life that impacts him in a harmful way. When Cal was only eight years old Cal his mother died. This single event has had a ripple effect that has changed Cal’s life. After this tragic event Cal’s personality changes and he suffers from Childhood Grief Disorder as well as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Cal displays all the symptoms such as anxiety, depression, general relentlessness, emotional detachment, and most importantly dissociation. He isolates him self from reality including his father. Cal’s relationship with his father is strained and awkward. It is very close to being non existent. Cal lacks parental guidance as well as direction. Cal also suffers from Intrusion in which he has a lot of flashbacks of his mother. This weak minded individual is easily influenced by his friends and surroundings. These events allow Cal to be easily pressured and be part of the flock. Cal’s good friend Crilly has a lot of control of Cal’s life and makes decisions for him. Crilly influences Cal to participate in the Irish Republican Army and commit heinous crimes he really does not want to do. Cal is unable to stand up to Crilly and easily succumbs to his radical friend.

Show More
Related

  • Isolation Form Love In The Film "east Of Eden"

    640 Words  | 2 Pages

    Steinbeck shows Cals isolation from love and its aggressive results when Cal angrily throws stones at his mothers house. When Cal first learns of his supposedly dead mothers existence he is outraged and goes to seek her. When he is not allowed to see her he violently throws stones and yells "Why can’t a kid see his own mother?" and "Why cant I see my mother". This is the first of several violent actions taken by Cal in an effort to be redeemed by his parents affections. His actions, although violent, are a symbol of his not being loved and the isolation he feels towards his family. In the scene where Cal tries to confer with his mother it is also learned that his mother does not want to have any contact with her children.

    Read More

  • Gretchen Lutterman Character Analysis

    606 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cal is a character who has to deal with other peoples' problems while having to deal with his own problems. Cal has to deal with his father losing his job and his father doesn't support Cal when it comes to sports. Wanting his dad to go to some of his games, Cal discusses with his mom about his dad coming to the games. "Do you think you and Dad might come?" "No... not tonight, you know your is going through a lot right now." I zipped my gym bag shut. "Yeah, I know, but I wish he'd see me play sometime" (West 16). Helping out Cal, Peggy brings up Cal's last football game at the dinner table, trying to gain her fathers' attention on the subject. "I didn't say anything about the game at dinner that night! like I'd be begging my dad to come, I mean a lot of kids

    Read More

  • Society´s Role in Morley Callaghan’s novel More Joy in Heaven

    1194 Words  | 3 Pages

    Morley Callaghan’s novel More Joy in Heaven follows the short life of notorious bank robber and gunman Kip Caley. Callaghan's novel is based off and follows Red Ryan's now forgotten story almost word for word. Red Ryan and the fictional Kip Caley both face the effects of a being an outsider in a forceful, high-class society. Individuals and organizations play a huge responsibility role to ex-convicts; readers of More Joy in Heaven unfortunately see the side effects when selfishness and thirst for glory play into this important, delicate role. Nonetheless that readers see what the wrong individuals will do to an ex-convict, readers will also see what kinder individuals can do to someone trying to reform. Yet what the public does and does not do is not to be blamed systematically; Red Ryan and Kip Caley crave societies attention and even begin to depend on it before their story is over. Their craving for attention makes them vulnerable to being abused by society. Both society and parolees want to live the upstanding lives, but neither takes into account what the others wants and needs are, so who’s fault is it when a parolee fails to meet societies precast expectations?

    Read More

  • Alistair MacLeod's No Great Mischief

    1202 Words  | 3 Pages

    The search for and importance of family and identity of the Calum Ruadh clan in Alistair MacLeod's No Great Mischief is significant to the concept of blood being thicker than water. The importance of family, as indicated in No Great Mischief, is very apparent in regards to the main point of prominence in this deeply emotional Gaelic- Canadian tale.

    Read More

  • Sir Gawain and Green Knight Essays: Triumph or Failure?

    510 Words  | 2 Pages

    The story is concerned with the conflict between his conception of himself and the reality.

    Read More

  • Belfast Diary

    1095 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...differences as an ending. Thousands have died regardless of the side they represented. As a reader, this eye witness account in the book brings to life the troubles in Northern Ireland. Walking the streets and living amongst the chaos shows the severity of the situation. This segregation still lives on today in Northern Ireland with no clear end in sight. But one can not expect a four hundred year long feud to end abruptly. Progress has been made in modern time but both sides need full dedication to end the divide. To put aside religion, politics and other blockades in order to truly find what is best for their nation. Just like the old Irish proverb, you've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was. Forget what was in the past and by the elders so one can move on to a new united future whether it be united with Great Britain or Ireland.

    Read More

  • Last Hurrah

    1146 Words  | 3 Pages

    There is particular consideration given to the political climate in this story. It is incorporated with social and ethnic concerns that are prevalent. The story also addresses prejudice and the theme of ethnic stereotyping through his character development. O'Connor does not present a work that is riddled with Irish slurs or ethnic approximations. Instead, he attempts to provide an account that is both informative and accurate.

    Read More

  • Foolish Pride in Judith Guest's Ordinary People

    582 Words  | 2 Pages

    Calvin, Conrad's father tries to be helpful to everyone. He is very caring to his son, and tries very hard with his wife Beth. It seems that Cal gives himself away to everyone, making sure his family is ok, but never worried about himself.

    Read More

  • All The Pretty Horses

    943 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cormac McCarthy was raised in a Catholic home and even attended a Catholic school. Being a part of that denomination, it is no wonder that his novels incorporate a dark themes and ideas that suggest harmonious living between all human beings is impossible, as we all possess aggressive instincts and have lived in such a way that suggests life cannot be achievable without bloodshed. In McCarthy’s first instalment of the Border Trilogy, All The Pretty Horses features characters that live their life in a hurricane of evil that is only escapable in death.

    Read More

  • Overview of Alistar Macleod's No Great Mischief

    1140 Words  | 3 Pages

    Alistar Macleod’s “No Great Mischief” is a novel full of constant recollections of the Clann Calum Ruadh’s past and genealogy and relating it to the history of Canada; everything that happened in the family’s past effected the life they live currently. This is evident in the characters Alexander McDonald, his brother Calum, the different groups of people and all the connections they have with their family’s past and connections they have with the Clann Calum Ruadh. Alexander is the main character and is the one explaining the story of the past in a very short time period in the present and he connects the family lines throughout history. Calum, the older brother, was left to take care of himself and his siblings at a young age, which results in his drunkenness at the present. Included in the story, at many different time periods, are various groups of people, such as the French Canadians, the English, and the Migrant workers who make an impact on the characters of the story. The reoccurring phrase “Always look after your own blood” (14) was passed down the family line and is questioned and demonstrated by the characters.

    Read More

  • Norther Ireland: A Nation Divided

    1819 Words  | 4 Pages

    Violence, terror, suffering and death. The conflict that has been burning in Northern Ireland seems to be an unstoppable battle and it has flooded over the land of Northern Ireland. The struggle for power and the persistence of greed have fueled the raging fires of the opposing groups. The conflict in Northern Ireland has been discussed continually over the past few decades. Ever since the beginning of the “Troubles,” organizations have been scavenging to find a plan that will cease the violence. Throughout my research for this project, the questions of what are the main sources of conflict in Northern Ireland and why have they continued today guided me to many fascinating pieces of evidence that provided me with a more compassionate view of the situation of Northern Ireland. My research topic was very broad and to get down into a more explicit viewpoint, I chose to search for my sources by selecting three disciplines.

    Read More

  • Searching For Independence In Dubliners

    1683 Words  | 4 Pages

    James Joyce is the author of Dubliners, a compilation of Irish short stories that reflect on the feelings he associates with the city of Dublin, where he grew up in a large impoverished family. After he graduated from the University College, Dublin, Joyce went to live abroad in Paris, France. This action indicates a sense of entrapment that led to his desire to escape. The situations in his stories differ significantly, but each character within these stories experiences this sense of escape that Joyce had. In “An Encounter”, two boys make their first real move at being independent by skipping school to explore Dublin. In “Eveline”, the main character has a choice between taking care of her unstable father or leaving him to lead a new life with a man she has been seeing. In Joyce’s story, “The Dead,” a young man is thrown into deep human assessment, becomes unsure of who he is, and soon after is frightened of this newly discovered truth. The stories in Dubliners implicate this need for independence through characters in different situations and experiencing the feeling of entrapment.

    Read More

  • Powder by Tobias Wolff

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    The father’s character begins to develop with the boy’s memory of an outing to a nightclub to see the jazz legend, Thelonius Monk. This is the first sign of the father’s unreliability and how the boy’s first recollection of a visitation with him was a dissatisfaction to his mother. The second sign of the father’s lack of responsibility appears again when he wanted to keep taking the boy down the snowy slopes even though he was pushing the time constraints put on his visitation with his son. He knew he was supposed to have the boy back with his mother in time for Christmas Eve dinner. Instead, the father wanted to be adventurous with his son and keep taking him down the slopes for one last run. When that one last run turned into several more, the father realized he was now pushing the time limits of his visit. Even though he thought he was going to get him home, he was met with a highway patrol’s blockade of the now closed road that led home.

    Read More

  • Religion In James Joyce's Dubliners

    1175 Words  | 3 Pages

    A collection of short stories published in 1907, Dubliners, by James Joyce, revolves around the everyday lives of ordinary citizens in Dublin, Ireland (Freidrich 166). According to Joyce himself, his intention was to "write a chapter of the moral history of [his] country and [he] chose Dublin for the scene because the city seemed to [b]e the centre of paralysis" (Friedrich 166). True to his goal, each of the fifteen stories are tales of disappointment, darkness, captivity, frustration, and flaw. The book is divided into four sections: childhood, adolescence, maturity, and public life (Levin 159). The structure of the book shows that gradually, citizens become trapped in Dublin society (Stone 140). The stories portray Joyce's feeling that Dublin is the epitome of paralysis and all of the citizens are victims (Levin 159). Although each story from Dubliners is a unique and separate depiction, they all have similarities with each other. In addition, because the first three stories -- The Sisters, An Encounter, and Araby parallel each other in many ways, they can be seen as a set in and of themselves. The purpose of this essay is to explore one particular similarity in order to prove that the childhood stories can be seen as specific section of Dubliners. By examining the characters of Father Flynn in The Sisters, Father Butler in An Encounter, and Mangan's sister in Araby, I will demonstrate that the idea of being held captive by religion is felt by the protagonist of each story. In this paper, I argue that because religion played such a significant role in the lives of the middle class, it was something that many citizens felt was suffocating and from which it was impossible to get away. Each of the three childhood stories uses religion to keep the protagonist captive. In The Sisters, Father Flynn plays an important role in making the narrator feel like a prisoner. Mr. Cotter's comment that "… a young lad [should] run about and play with young lads of his own age…" suggests that the narrator has spent a great deal of time with the priest. Even in death, the boy can not free himself from the presence of Father Flynn (Stone 169) as is illustrated in the following passage: "But the grey face still followed me. It murmured; and I understood that it desired to confess something.

    Read More

  • The Role of Imagination in The Playboy of Western World by John Millington Synge

    878 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...en though there was a period when Christy came out of his world of imagination, he run back to it because of his fear of the harsh world. Without his imaginary tale, his heroic title doesn’t exit and his legacy will be scripted on the memory of County Mayo as a deceiver. Christy stated “What’ll Pegeen say when she hears that story? What’ll she be saying to me now?” Synge uses this consistent questioning to assure the readers of the range of fear Christy is faced with; his fear that the whole world and even Pegeen is against him and see him as a hypocrite.

    Read More

More about Bernard Mac Laverty’s Cal

Open Document