Irish People and Father Flynn

In order to answer the wide-cut question, the term incident will be dissectd in the context of the pillow slips of the texts and in the possibility for their personal growth and opportunity for channelise, be it spiritual, physical or stirred up. The test will focus thematically on four chosen texts crowd together Joyces The Sisters and Langston Hughes verses I, too, brisk Yorkers and Harlem. Firstly this essay will analyse how the urban center of capital of Ireland re paradeed in The Sisters is shown, by dint of Joyces literary devices, to twain offer and restrict possibility for each of its central characters.Key themes identify will past be personad as a seat for further analysis of how these themes are to a greater extent widely represented indoors the selected sunrise(prenominal) York poems to either confirm or refute Lehans avowal that The city both offers and restricts possibility. Textual analysis of The Sisters reveals numerous literary devices that exp licate the theme of the re air pressureion of possibility by the city of its people.Throughout, Joyce uses symbolism, metaphors, and ellipsis to strain his themes whilst allowing the reader to infer its meanings without the need to describe them explicitly. The italicised intelligence agencys paralysis, gnomon and simony (page 1) is one such(prenominal) technique and immediately beneathscores the physical, spiritual and religious restraints put together at heart the degree that Dub limnrs symbolises as a paralysis (p1) of the city and its people.The storys young, intelligent, and sensitive (unnamed) protagonist comes to experience first-hand the reality of paralysis and expiry he achieves his desire to look upon (p1) both the physical paralysis and oddment of let Flynn, with whom he was great friends (p2) and the more subtle psychological paralysis of those virtually him his Aunt, Uncle Jack, Eliza and Nanny Flynn and Mr cottier. The story shows that the Dublin adults are mentally immobilised metaphorically paralysed, by their conformity to the conventions of their city lives, for them, the judgements of the Irish church is a given.Eliza, Cotter and the church men consider Flynn and not the church to be the nominate of his predicament the duties of the priesthood was too such(prenominal) for him (p9). They appear unable to acknowledge the accuracy of a priest nearly smothered (p4) by his understanding of the demands of his and their- church. The perceptive male child, finds the adults surrounding him tiresome (p1) and notices how Nannie Flynns skirt was hooked clumsily (p6).His judgemental and sometimes precocious style seems at times somewhat harsh the one-time(a) womans mutterings distracted me (p6) and his character seemingly reflects the scrupulous record of Father Flynn. The friendship between this fatherless boy and the priest in uniform manner offered important possibilities for growth to our protagonist, he was taught a great deal (p2) such as how to pronounce Latin properly, told stories about Napoleon nap and was questioned until he could make no answer (p6).This education, when contrasted to the principle of education expound by his Uncle as a cold bath (p2), is something that, without Father Flynn, the boy might not cod had access to. The question of whether, in the sense impression of freedom from (p4)Flynns death, the boy takes up this possibility for swop or succumbs to the paralysis caused by the restrictions of the city is one which Joyce leaves unanswered. In the case of Father Flynn the city of Dublin both offered and restricted possibility.From a lower mark upbringing in Irishtown (p9) Flynn was able to travel to, and be educated in, the Irish college in Rome (p5). Yet once he returned to the city and took up his post, he became the disappointed (p9), Father Flynn who was paralysed by his too scrupulous (p9) nature. possibly this is a reference to the potentially paralysing psychologica l disorder scrupulosity which would explain his spooky (p10) disposition and his failed attempts to perform his office represented by the symbolic chalice that contained nothing (p9) and the idle chalice (p10) he loosely retained (p6) in death.The storys namesakes, the Flynn sisters, were perhaps the most restricted by their Dublin lives. Flynns economically and socially impoverished siblings lived with him in the unassuming workshop, registered under the vague name of Drapery (p3) have been forced to receive the weaken legacy of a truculent (p6) defector whose fortunes once took him to college in Rome. Their deficiency of education becomes apparent through Elizas malapropisms freemans ecumenical(p8) and rheumatic wheels (p9) and the fact they remain unmarried is made clear through the address of Miss Flynn (p8).The sacrifices the sisters made for their chum salmons career within the Irish church, is clearly represented by the symbolic communion of sherry and lick crackers w hen they receive the boy and his Aunt into the death-room, all highlight the sacrifices they have made. Joyce does not veil his opinion that the Catholic Church is responsible for a large portion of Dubliners paralysis of will and also hints at another malefactor England. The death notice on the door of the shop on Great Britain Street (p3) states that the priest died on 1st July 1895.This find coincides with the Battle of the Boyne (1690) in which Catholic supporters of James II were defeated by William III in a defeat that brought death to the Irish trusts for national and religious freedom. (Walzl, 1965, p45) . The date is also that of the Feast of the Most preciously Blood which is symbolic of Father Flynn, his strokes, the broken chalice and the communion served in the death-room. This analysis has demonstrated a number of themes in The Sisters that restrict (paralyse) the possibility of its characters growth, and fewer that display the offering.The paralysis of its charact ers resolution for change, caused by the restrictions of the city, is a theme that is also echoed throughout the rest of Dubliners. Joyce presents the city as an ever present channel of poverty and inaction (p. 35) which often leads to a animation of commonplace sacrifices closing in final craziness (p. 33). trap by poverty and political and religious repression, Joyces citizens put forwardnot summonthe hope or energy that Gallaherfrom A Little Cloud did, to revolt against the dull inelegance of the city (p. 68). However, Joyces portrait of Dublin is not entirely bleak.Joyce could simply have condemned Dublin, asGallaherdoes, or followed the example of Duffy, who, in A Painful Case, seeks refuge in brittle, lonely seclusion. But Joyce chose the more challenging course of confronting and accepting the passage of the dear in dear, dirty Dublin. (p70) The citys ability to supress its citizens hope of, or will to change, is something that it is clear, the paralysed characters of The Sisters had experienced, and it is this theme that this essay will now explore further, in an attempt to draw conclusions as to the validity of Lehans pedagogy.The chosen Langston Hughes poems I, too, Harlem and New Yorkers display continuity of the theme of paralysis through the restriction of a city on its citizens although in differing ways and to differing extents. Langston Hughes poem, I, too, is a poem whose main character is in complete contrast to the those of Joyce. Hughes positions the readers to feel the emotions of guiltiness and sympathy by applying his personal narration and allows the readers to recognise the inequality of the darker brother who is sent to eat in the kitchen /when company comes (lines 3-4).The isolation of the darker brother, his movement an embarrassment to the people around him, serves to anger and motivate his design for change that is so differing to that of Joyces Dublin characters. When he ironically states, But I laugh,/And eat well,/ And grow strong (5-7) the speaker is making clear his determination to utilise even the worst situation as an opportunity for growth. Hughes use of humour and irony demonstrates this positivity and certainty of change for the future which is in complete contrast to that of Joyces characters.The physical symmetry of the anthem- give care poem centres around the line tomorrow (8) and seems to gain momentum and passion, as he rebelliously promises exsanguine America that he will not be utter for Tomorrow, /Ill be at the table/ when company comes. / nobodyll resist say to me,/ eat in the kitchen theyll see how beautiful I am (8-16). Hughes positions the reader to feel both sympathy and admiration in the narration, and be ashamed (17).The word beautiful seemingly symbolises both the speakers skin colour and his cultural heritage, his pride demonstrating that he does not take to change himself so the city will accept him, but for the white city to awake from its own paralysis and to a ctively accept change by valuing their separate and distinctive sorry culture, establishing that he, acting as a representative for the rest of his culture, is as part of the city as I he too am is America (18).The theme of paralysis is also present in Hughes poem Harlem albeit in different way to that of I, too. The speakers tone of disdain towards the city is instantly clear through the effective imagery of it being situated on the edge of hell (line 1). This is then compounded by the frequent punctuation and repetition of old (3-5), successfully characterization the tedium and hopelessness that it is clear the speaker feels about the situation.The history uses the term we suggesting that, like I, too, that the speaker is not just speaking as himself but acting as a join for a wider, black culture. When he speaks of the price increase of sugar, bread and the new tax on cigarettes (11) he suggests political repression, when he speaks of the job they never could get/and cant ha ve now/Because were coloured (13-15) he displays his embitterment towards the city and its reluctance to change. The feeling of hopelessness is carried through to the end of the poem, We remember. a drear statement echoing the remembering of old lies (5) from the beginning and accurately portraying the sense of time passed over which they have been patient (5) despite what they told us before (5). The sense of hopelessness present within the speaker, and by knowledge the African-American culture, is one that Hughes is suggesting has been gradually attained through their sacrifices for, and repression by, the city in which they live, much like that of Joyces Dublin upon his characters.The third poem which this essay will use to explore the validity of Lehans statement is that of New Yorkers. The first stanza opens introducing the male character as that of a native New Yorker I was born here (line 1), the internal rhyme of thats no lie, he said/right here beneath Gods sky (2-3) draw s attention to the apparent need to reassure the female character that he was telling the truth, the implication being that they had been subject to previous dishonesty.If, like in Hughes other two poems we assume that each voice represents the voice of their particular cultures we can infer a deeper meaning to the previous statement that the female voice who wasnt born here (4) represents the new immigrants, the statement hence seemingly echoing the old lies seen in Hughes Harlem that promised of better possibilities. where I come from/folks work hard/all their lives/ until they die/ and never own no parts/of earth nor sky(6-11) Hughes draws attention to her belief of the better possibilities that the city would offer and the fact that they were misguided, by his use f her believing she could own a piece of sky (11). The repetition of the word also serves to demonstrate the similarities between the sky of the place from which the immigrant originates and that of the citys despite her initial beliefs that the city would offer more Now whatve I got? (13). The following declaration of love You (14) acts to convey that an unexpected possibility for emotional growth has been offered. However the hint of irony in the final line The same old spark perhaps implies that she has closed her mind to her genuine dreams of expanding possibilities, for what might be a temporary flame. In conclusion, Hughes poems, like The Sisters, all indicate the offering of, and restrictions on, the possibilities within a city and therefore confirm Lehans statement. Both authors, upon first glance, seemingly highlight more restrictions than opportunities. It is important to remember however, that as each city changes, so do the opportunities and restrictions offered, and at the time of writing, both cities were in a period of prominent change, to which there is always resistance.At the conclusion of The Sisters we are left wondering how much of a characters plight is due to the citys restrictions Joyce so specifically illuminates, and how much is due to human qualities that transcend environment. Perhaps the lesson in both Joyces and Hughes work, is that a city is made up of individual characters, and as long as its individuals remain backward-facing, without hope and closed to change, they will be paralysed from seeing the possibilities that the city has to offer them.Word Count 2186 Bibliography A230 Assignment Guide,( 2010) TMA 04, sensory(a) University press Bremen, B (1984) He Was Too Scrupulous Always A Re-Examination of Joyces The Sisters James Joyce Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 1 pp. 55-66 Haslam, S & Asbee, S (2012) The Twentieth Century, Twentieth-Century Cities, exposed University Press Haslam, S & Asbee, S (2012) The Twentieth Century, Readings for part 1, sensory(a) University Press James Joyce (2000 1914) Dubliners (with an introduction and notes by Terence Brown), Penguin Modern Classics, London, Penguin. Walzl, F (1965) The life chronology of the Dubliners , James Joyce Quarterley Websites A230-11J, Study Guide Week 26 Extra Resources, Milton Keynes, The Open University, http//learn. open. ac. uk/file. php/7066/ebook_a230_book3_pt1_chpt4_langston-hughes-poetry_l3. pdf (accessed 21st March 2012) http//us. penguingroup. com/static/rguides/us/dubliners. html