Analyse af Arhondias novelle 'Tom Corridan'

Breaking with the social heritage can be difficult, especially when your parents come from the lower class. This struggle is shown in Arhondia's short story "Tom Corridan," which follows the boy Tom who lives in a lower-class home with an abusive father who wants him to be a plumber instead of a comprehensive education as Tom would like.

In the short story "Tom Corridan," there is a chronological structure with a first-person narrator, Tom, the main character. You can tell by the title that the focus of the short story is Tom Corridan. The short story starts in the media's res in the middle of an event when Tom walks while listening to Trevors music, Thin Lizzy’s version of Whiskey in the Jar. "Trevor is blasting Thin Lizzy’s version of Whiskey in the Jar1. It’s grey and cold but not pissing down so I can have a fag out of sight in the laneway behind our houses and listen to Trevor’s tunes."(line 1-2).

In the short story, we meet these characters: Tom's mother, Tom's father frank, Tom's little brother Joe, Frank's friend Michael, Trevor, who is Tom’s neighbor, and Father Flanagan, who is Tom’s teacher and a priest. Tom Corridan is the main character in the short story. Tom lives with his mother, his father Frank, and his brother Joe on Cherryfield road in Dublin city. Tom's characterization is built on his own thoughts, actions, and language because he is the first-person narrator. Tom is knowledgeable and wants to go to the university after high school, but his father wants him to be like him and become a plumber so he can earn some money for the family. However, Tom will not end up like his father, who is alcoholic, violent, and does not have a comprehensive education. Furthermore, Tom and his mother are afraid of Frank because he is aggressive and violent when things don't turn out as he wants them to. Tom cares for his mother and tries to protect her when Frank is getting aggressive for example when there was no dinner when he got home. Tom helps his mother with dinner, so Frank doesn't get mad. “Do you need any help, Ma?” I say,"(line 63). Tom's mother is terrified of Frank and does not dare to speak out against him when he is unpleasant. For example, when Frank gets home: “Jaysus, are you making the food from scratch, Nell? Plate up, woman, for fuck’s sake!” Da says" (line 62), "watching my mother do her usual trick of making herself smaller and smaller. One day she’ll make herself one with the wall and disappear." (Line 63-64).