A Consideration Of Farrington In James Joyce — страница 2

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working man in an unappreciative society. Farrington is simply a replaceable cog in a giant machine while he is at work, but here in the pubs he is a man of renown. Stories were exchanged and Farrington was again a hero, if but only for a short time. Later at the pub Farrington was to lose an arm wrestling contest to a young Englishman named Weathers, who just so happens to be an acrobat and artiste. I do not believe it to be to far of a stretch to consider the battle between Farrington and Weathers to be full of symbolism. The old versus the young. The Irish versus those who oppress them. The poor working class versus the bourgeoisie. In this instant, Farrington had lost in his defense of the national honor and also been humiliated as an old man. Again Joyce picks a foreigner to

be the downfall of our Irish anti-hero. To add insult to injury, Farrington has spent all of his money and his drinking buddies desert him. Now Farrington is left to consider his defeat at the hands of the Englishman and his battle with the undefeatable opponent that is time. He is growing old in a young mans world. He is a second class citizen in his own land. This is the point that Farrington takes his final sad step in his descent. Farrington arrives home and viciously lashes his young son with a stick, ostensibly for allowing the fire to go out. This is Farringtons only outlet for his anger and his sadness. All of the anger, oppression and prejudice that he has been a victim to is redirected at his innocent son. The circle of oppression will invariably continue as the son

grows to hate his father and also to enter the world that has so damaged his father. As the son begs for his fathers mercy he says he will pray for his father. This is a sign that the boy has accepted the church as his protector, but to no avail. Farrington may not be a hero, but he is a potent and tragic symbol of the degeneration of a man when forced to live in a system that offers him no justice. It is not hard to imagine that Farrington was once a young child, much like his son, with a seemingly bright future ahead. Through years of hard labor and no opportunity he has fallen to his current state, but at times his spirit shines as a beacon and his wit humbles his oppressor. Knowing a little about Irish history, it is sad to say that Farringtons condition did not likely

improve nor did that of his son. The oppression that destroyed so many proud Irishmen continues on today to some extent and the current economic boom is again being carved upon by foreign carpetbaggers. The quest for Irish freedom is a continuing struggle, and Farrington was merely another noble victim of the struggle. James Connolly once wrote, “The working class are the sole incorruptible inheritors of the fight for Irish freedom.” Unfortunately, In Farringtons time the fight was not to be won. The English continue to occupy Ireland, and a unified Ireland does not seem to be on the horizon. The struggle is timeless as the following quote attests: “We have seen with anger in our hearts and the flush of shame on our cheeks English alms dumped on the quays of Dublin; we have

had to listen to the lying and hypocritical English press as it shouted the news of the starving and begging Irish to the ends of the earth; we have heard Englishmen bellowing on the streets of Dublin the lie that we are the sisters and brothers of the English?and the greatest shame of all, we have seen Irishmen give their approval to all these insults? God grant that such things man never happen in our land again.” As current as that quote sounds, it is from Irish Freedom, December 27th 1913. With the atrocities and criminal behavior of the British in mind, it is easier to come to a more sympathetic view of Farrington. Farrington is not the cold hearted, drunken child beater that he at first appears, but rather the victim of a society that has doomed him to his sad fate. We

must consider that he continues to struggle on despite the odds and that his lot has been shared by an entire nation for generations.