Abstract or Introduction
Seamus Deane’s novel ‘Reading in the dark’ was published in 1996. The narrative story stretches over a period of 26 years: from 1945 until 1971. It is the story of a young boy that follows him from his early childhood until adult life. ‘Reading in the dark’ is not about any childhood, but particularly about a childhood that stands for many lived in Catholic Derry during the years that incubated the troubles.
How the circumstances of a culture shaken by inner and outer troubles and violence effect the boy’s childhood shall be explained in the following text.
The narrative is told out of the perspective of a young boy who was born into a Catholic family in Derry. It has elements that suggest that the novel is an autobiography. At the same time, however, certain hints put this idea into question. Deane might have intentionally left the boy anonymous. There is never a name mentioned. Also his age remains concealed. The possible and most obvious reason for this is that Deane did not want to write an autobiography but wants to remain more general in his descriptions. One could call it a fictional autobiography. The circumstances could refer to any family in Catholic Derry. Through not giving the boy a name, Deane avoids fitting him with a political label as names can easily be associated with religious and political backgrounds. In spite of providing the boy with an identity, the attempt to discover and question his personal identity is emphasised.
Throughout the novel, the boy’s major attempt is to understand his culture and to find out who he and his family are. The reader perceives the people and circumstances around him from the boy’s point of view with all its incompleteness. When he becomes witness of an accident, we learn about the role the police play in Catholic Derry. Everyone hates the police; they are seen as a destructive force. The police officer’s carelessness towards the victim of the accident is mostly a symbol of a political act. In another passage, the boy witnesses a talk of adults while he is hiding under the kitchen table. However, the child has no full, complete picture of what is going on. He makes the attempt to understand by piecing together the story of the past in darkness.
- Quote paper
- Beate Wilhelm (Author), 2006, Representation of Catholic Derry During the Year preceding the Troubles in Reading in the Dark, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/65794
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