Sample question
Question
With reference to the ways that Friel presents communication in the play, show how far you agree that some characters find it difficult to communicate.
You could make a variety of points if you were writing an essay in response to this question. Just ensure you know the play well enough to come up with a selection of good points quickly, no matter what question you are asked.
The following list is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive - you may not have time to mention all these points in an hour and there are many more points that you could make.
- Friel uses dramatic structure from the beginning to show the lack of communication between S.B. and Gar. S.B. is absent from the stage for much of Episode I, showing how little they communicate. This foreshadowSomething that warns of or suggests a future event. the inability or unwillingness to express their feelings to each other from the beginning.
- Friel’s use of silence between the characters emphasises the issues they have with communicating. Because of Gar Private’s continuous commentary, it is often easy to forget that there is actually silence on stage if you remove what are essentially Gar’s internal thoughts. Private’s long monologues often hide the lengthy silences when father and son are on stage together.
- The split character device of Gar Private and Gar Public is used to show characters’ difficulty in communicating in a variety of ways. Private - through sarcasticWhen someone says the opposite of what they really mean in order to mock or insult. commentary and internal monologueA speech by a single person, speaking alone, often revealing something about their past or personality. - often says the things that Public is unwilling or unable to say. We see this in his interactions with his father, Madge, Kate Doogan, Senator Doogan, the boys, Master Boyle, the Canon and his aunt Lizzy Sweeney. Through this device we see that Gar himself finds communication difficult, even on this last night in Ballybeg.
- As a trusted character Madge reinforces to the audience that the other characters have more feelings than they let on. She says of S.B. “just because he doesn’t say much doesn’t mean that he hasn’t feelings like the rest of us” and “He said nothing either when your mother died.” Madge’s character acts almost as a mediatorAn unbiased third-party who intervenes to attempt to reconcile differences between two disputing parties to end the disagreement. between Gar and his father, highlighting the communication difficulties of both characters.
- Although we see no improvement in relations between Gar and his father by the end of the play, we do get clues that both characters feel more than they say. While S.B. acts as if Gar’s imminent departure is not happening, the stage directions often show that he is more anxious than we may think. The newspaper that he pretends to be reading is actually upside down and his sleeplessness in the final episode seems to suggest that he has something on his mind. He poignantly “touches the coat” that is sitting outside Gar’s room and then “sits there, staring at the bedroom door”. He may not tell Gar that he will miss him, but these small actions suggest that he is sad about Gar leaving.
- In the opening scene, Gar seems delighted at the prospect of emigrating. He dances around with Madge in a jovial mood. But Gar Public’s final words - admitting that he doesn’t really know why he is leaving - contrast with the start of the play. They show that in reality he is not so sure. The ambiguousSomething that could be interpreted in more than one way. ending means we never know what Gar wants or does.
- Even Madge - who does most of the communicating with S.B. and Gar, as well as being the one who invited Gar’s friends over to say goodbye - finds it difficult to communicate at times. In the final scene she tells S.B. that the new baby has been called Brigid. This conversation is juxtaposeTo place two or more ideas/images close together to create further meaning for an audience. with a dialogue between her and Gar where she doesn’t correct Gar when he calls the baby Madge. We know from a discussion earlier in the play this is because she is hiding her disappointment that the baby has not been called after her.
- The boys too - despite this being the last time they will see Gar before he leaves - seem unable or unwilling to communicate that they will miss him. The machoMasculine in an overly assertive way traditionally thought to be typical of a man such as very noticeable strength and aggression. posturing and tales of girls and adventure - which Private’s contradictory commentary tell us is all untrue - seem to be used to avoid talking about Gar’s imminent departure. When Ned removes his belt and presents it to Gar as a leaving present, he is described using the adverbA word that describes a verb (an action or a doing word). “shyly, awkwardly”. This shows that even during a farewell he is uncomfortable about any kind of real affection.
- Friel shows us that even in the past this problem with communication was an issue. Aunt Lizzy talks about Maire’s wedding day, "her shoulders are sorta working – you know – and you couldn’t tell whether she was crying or giggling – she was a helluva one for giggling – but maybe she was crying that morning”. There seems to be a suggestion here that Maire wasn’t as happy in the marriage as S.B. and was perhaps trapped in a marriage with an older, rather cold man. However, because of the time and the circumstances, she just had to accept the consequences and ignore her regret.
- Madge’s final monologue shows little hope that these non-communicative characters will change - she surmises that “And when he’s [Gar] the same age the boss is now, he’ll turn out just the same. And although I won’t be here to see it, you’ll find that he’s learned nothin’ in-between times.” Her prediction of the cycle of men who are frightened of showing emotion leaves us with little hope for change at the end of the play and contributes to the tragic ending.
You should always try to provide a counterargumentAn opposing viewpoint put forward to contrast with an idea or theory developed in your main argument. in any essay as this shows you know the novel well enough to see other arguments and interpretations.
If you want to get the higher marks it is essential that you show understanding of different points of view.
Remember that characters and situations are rarely simple and - like most real life people and events - there are often two sides to most opinions.
In this case, some points of counterargument could be as follows.
While many of the male characters seem unable or unwilling to communicate when needed, the female characters seem more open. Madge, for example, is emotionally open and is a mother figure for Gar.
Aunt Lizzy is also warmer and mentions that her sisters were all like that. She is quite tipsy when she says this, so we may question whether alcohol is the reason for her talkative nature.
There are of course other incidents in the play, such as Ned giving over his belt and S.B.’s final moments of sentimentality. Although in S.B.’s case the tragedy is that he is communicating his feelings to the wrong person.
