Themes
Like many other contemporary and modern pieces of Irish literature, The Butcher Boy addresses concerns about the Ireland's neocolonial status. Critic Tim Guathier asserts that the crisis of identity which Francie experiences throughout the novel stems from the "unbalanced state" of Ireland and Irish identity. In particular, Guathier emphasizes that the instability of the community during the sixties, a time of rapid change and ethnic and political violence within Ireland, shapes his dysfunctional family, Francie's dysfunctional relationships with other character like Joe Purcell's and ensures that Francie does not feel part of the larger community, effectively turning him into the "Other".
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Famous quotes containing the word themes:
“I suppose you think that persons who are as old as your father and myself are always thinking about very grave things, but I know that we are meditating the same old themes that we did when we were ten years old, only we go more gravely about it.”
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