Genre
A novel
Setting and Context
The events of the story take place in Dublin in the 1960s.
Narrator and Point of View
The story is told from the first-person point of view by Paddy Clarke.
Tone and Mood
The tone varies from carefree to troubled while the mood is uneasy.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Paddy Clarke is the protagonist while his father is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflicts involve person vs. person and person vs. self. Paddy’s parents fail to solve their issues in such a way that their children stay uninvolved. Person vs. self is the protagonist’s transition from Paddy to Patrick.
Climax
“Then he was gone.”
Patrick’s father leaves the family.
Foreshadowing
“I could feel Da’s voice but I could only hear hers. They were having another of their fights”.
Understatement
“They made him walk home wearing the glasses, right up to our house, with a stick they painted white. Ma did nothing about it; she sang to Sinbad while he was crying.”
Allusions
The novel alludes to World War II.
Imagery
The most vivid images are of the house and events developing here, the cruel treatment of the father, and the dirty things around the house. All of this demonstrates the unhealthy situation in the house.
Paradox
“Sinbad didn’t believe me but he believed me as well.”
Parallelism
“Burn, blow it out, burn, blow it out.”
Metonymy and Synecdoche
“I had to keep an eye on Deirdre in the pram while our ma put clean socks on Sinbad.” (An eye is metonymy that means attention).
Personification
“They couldn’t make their minds up.” ("They" are legs).
