comparative-lies of silence, my left foot, homesick garden
Each text we read presents us with an outlook on life that may be bright or dark, or a combination of brightness and darkness.
We all already know that life is filled with spots. Spots where one day the sun would shine so radiantly that the light is blinding, yet, on another day would resemble the darkest night where not even your hand before your face can be seen. Or more formally known as the bright and dark areas. In these moments, we feel ourselves slipping slowly away, unable to attain the light. Here, our characters are decided. There is a choice of two actions in this situation i.e. to slip even further from the light, meekly looking at life pass you by, or the second, go down fighting. However, what if the situation stands that you can do neither? What if the main factor in your being in the dark spot is an external factor taking the form of a human?
In “Lies of Silence”, by Brian Moore, we obtain a valuable insight to the life of marriage. Even though we are only adolescents who have to study this book, even we can extract the important mistake which Michael Dillon, a hotel manager of the Clarence in Belfast, made. And that was simply to marry for looks rather than for love as revealed to us in Dillon’s thought “If only I’d been able to love her, to love her, not just her looks”. This decision may have been enlightening for the first few years of marriage for Dillon, however soon turned so dark that he viewed his wife, Moira, as “the enemy of his freedom”. Due to marrying someone purely because they were “tall, beautiful and very flirtatious”, Dillon found himself going down a path wondering what it would have been like to marry for love, rather than physical appearance, and perhaps thus that made him have an affair with Andrea, a twenty-three year old BBC broadcaster. Dillon was unhappy with his wife, that is evident, and because of the fact that he could not even stay with her for the point of staying with her, simply clarifies how daunting and suffocating his marriage was. He could not bear his wife. And as marriage is a lifestyle, it was a unbearable lifestyle for Dillon to lead.
In “Homesick Garden”, by Kate Cruise O’Brien, however, we receive a different perspective into marriage. In fact, we somewhat receive the opposite. Where as Dillon never loved Moira, in Home Sick Garden, Antonia’s father did love her mother, and very much so, for, instead of simply proclaiming a divorce, the father argues with the mother in the hope of getting through to her to stop her addictions i.e. smoking and drinking. Due to there existing an element of love, the two adults work at their relationship and do so willingly. Thus showing that thought marriage is a hard road to lead, it is in fact rewarding because you do have someone to love and to love you. Nothing will ever be perfect, again proved to us in “My Left Foot” by Christy Brown, yet it has it’s bright moments, for example in Home Sick Garden, at Christmas the Father was drinking a little and both he had his wife had a good time.
Acceptance is a huge theme in both the novels of Home Sick Garden, and My Left Foot. Antonia struggles with acceptance by the public, even though fifteen and normal in appearance, she has too different of a personality to fit in at school. I think it is because of her background in having a childish mother and the father’s time is spent solely on the mother. Antonia has had to learn to grow up very fast, yet in some cases still may have the psyche of a child. We clearly see how she has grown by her visit to Aunt Grace’s house, where she starts to clean up and care for her aunt, even though she is perhaps twenty years her senior. This different mind set sets Antonia apart from a normal child who grew up in a loving, secure and safe household because they can relish in being just kids. More is expected of Antonia. This fact is actually quite sad because Antonia will never really know what it was like to be a proper teenager, yet though the matter of her rejection may be a dark area in her life while she is only young, it will eventually brighten up as she grows older. However, Antonia is undoubted loved very much by her family, and what is the point of having the world on your shoulders when your family refuse to call you their own? There is none. Thus, Antonia has the bright love of her family balancing the dark rejection received by her classmates. Also, in the end of the novel, Antonia meets a boy named Stephen who will clearly end up being more than just her friend.
In My Left Foot, the matter of rejection is more at a larger scale. Christy was born with cerval palsy (?), which left him unable to walk, talk or move any part of his body other than his left foot and his head. As a child, Christy was never truly recognised by his father as being a member of the family, particularly noticed when Mrs. Brown had to tell her husband to say ‘good-bye’ to Christy as well as when he says “the child’s a cripple, face facts. Don’t be putting ideas in his head”. Perhaps this is why Christy was so desperate to prove himself to his father, who believed he knew nothing “What would he know?”. Perhaps it was this that drove Christy to pick up the chalk with his left foot and, while the family stood around and held their breath in anticipation, wrote clearly on the floor one word: Mother. This was the only action Christy had to take to prove to his father that he was his flesh and blood, and the message was clearly received by the father who at once shouted “He’s a Brown. He’s a Brown alright. Christy is a Brown…This is Christy Brown. My son-genius!” This was undoubtedly a bright moment for Christy as he had gained the acceptance of his father’s love and proclaimed his own for his mother.
Even in Lies of Silence, Dillon had the issue with rejection, and that was that of his father’s rejection of him. for a reason we cannot tell, Dillon’s father somehow always resented him and thought him not good enough to do anything correctly. However, Dillon does himself admit that his father was proud of him managing the Clarence hotel, that is in fact all that is offered to us to show that there existed some sort of bond. When the Clarence was bombed, Dillon’s father was the first to call him, yet Dillon rebuked the phone cal declaring his father the last person he wanted to talk with.
Another aspect of life we receive is the effect of alcohol in the family. In Home Sick Garden, especially, we see the hardship that is endure by Antonia’s family by her mother’s problem with drinking. Constant fights are suffered, to the point of Antonia thinking that her parents would be better off getting a divorce, It is the reason why Antonia had to grow up quickly, the reason for the feeling of insecurity. It makes life just that bit harder, not just for Elizabeth, but also for her husband and daughter.
In My Left Foot, Christy becomes an alcoholic because he has never truly been accepted by the opposite sex, which creates a definite feeling of loneliness, opposite to Antonia in Home Sick Garden. And even though in his state, even Christy had the moments where he would drink too much and become unpleasant. He would become bitter, depressed and violent when he reached the dark points in his life. With suicide being a failure, drink seems to be his only escape from reality. An escape from the dark spots of life.
Violence also presents itself in Lies of Silence, when Dillon and Moira are held hostage, by the IRA, in their own home from “four-fifteen” to seven a.m. It revealed the harsh truths of the danger that exists in northern Ireland to this present day. Fear is evident in Dillon and his wife, as all that occupies their minds is the possibility that their lives could end there and then. It is a sad thought that so many have to withstand such dark dilemmas in life, and though once scarce, the number of such people is increasing daily.
In conclusion, all novels gives us an insight to the different aspects of life. Aspects which are both dark and bright. Yet, it is up to us to decide upon which to dwell, if we need to dwell. And it is also our choice in live to dwell upon our own dark matters or our times of purest joy. Nothing is perfect, only God, and we are not Him. We were never meant to be perfect and it is with this thought that we strive and fight away the dark spots in life and try as hard as possible to reach the light and once more relish in happiness. We are in charge of what mood we want to be. With strength of character comes control. We are the captains of our own cruise. Whether we go through a storm and capsize or come out the other end a bit battered is really up to us.
We all already know that life is filled with spots. Spots where one day the sun would shine so radiantly that the light is blinding, yet, on another day would resemble the darkest night where not even your hand before your face can be seen. Or more formally known as the bright and dark areas. In these moments, we feel ourselves slipping slowly away, unable to attain the light. Here, our characters are decided. There is a choice of two actions in this situation i.e. to slip even further from the light, meekly looking at life pass you by, or the second, go down fighting. However, what if the situation stands that you can do neither? What if the main factor in your being in the dark spot is an external factor taking the form of a human?
In “Lies of Silence”, by Brian Moore, we obtain a valuable insight to the life of marriage. Even though we are only adolescents who have to study this book, even we can extract the important mistake which Michael Dillon, a hotel manager of the Clarence in Belfast, made. And that was simply to marry for looks rather than for love as revealed to us in Dillon’s thought “If only I’d been able to love her, to love her, not just her looks”. This decision may have been enlightening for the first few years of marriage for Dillon, however soon turned so dark that he viewed his wife, Moira, as “the enemy of his freedom”. Due to marrying someone purely because they were “tall, beautiful and very flirtatious”, Dillon found himself going down a path wondering what it would have been like to marry for love, rather than physical appearance, and perhaps thus that made him have an affair with Andrea, a twenty-three year old BBC broadcaster. Dillon was unhappy with his wife, that is evident, and because of the fact that he could not even stay with her for the point of staying with her, simply clarifies how daunting and suffocating his marriage was. He could not bear his wife. And as marriage is a lifestyle, it was a unbearable lifestyle for Dillon to lead.
In “Homesick Garden”, by Kate Cruise O’Brien, however, we receive a different perspective into marriage. In fact, we somewhat receive the opposite. Where as Dillon never loved Moira, in Home Sick Garden, Antonia’s father did love her mother, and very much so, for, instead of simply proclaiming a divorce, the father argues with the mother in the hope of getting through to her to stop her addictions i.e. smoking and drinking. Due to there existing an element of love, the two adults work at their relationship and do so willingly. Thus showing that thought marriage is a hard road to lead, it is in fact rewarding because you do have someone to love and to love you. Nothing will ever be perfect, again proved to us in “My Left Foot” by Christy Brown, yet it has it’s bright moments, for example in Home Sick Garden, at Christmas the Father was drinking a little and both he had his wife had a good time.
Acceptance is a huge theme in both the novels of Home Sick Garden, and My Left Foot. Antonia struggles with acceptance by the public, even though fifteen and normal in appearance, she has too different of a personality to fit in at school. I think it is because of her background in having a childish mother and the father’s time is spent solely on the mother. Antonia has had to learn to grow up very fast, yet in some cases still may have the psyche of a child. We clearly see how she has grown by her visit to Aunt Grace’s house, where she starts to clean up and care for her aunt, even though she is perhaps twenty years her senior. This different mind set sets Antonia apart from a normal child who grew up in a loving, secure and safe household because they can relish in being just kids. More is expected of Antonia. This fact is actually quite sad because Antonia will never really know what it was like to be a proper teenager, yet though the matter of her rejection may be a dark area in her life while she is only young, it will eventually brighten up as she grows older. However, Antonia is undoubted loved very much by her family, and what is the point of having the world on your shoulders when your family refuse to call you their own? There is none. Thus, Antonia has the bright love of her family balancing the dark rejection received by her classmates. Also, in the end of the novel, Antonia meets a boy named Stephen who will clearly end up being more than just her friend.
In My Left Foot, the matter of rejection is more at a larger scale. Christy was born with cerval palsy (?), which left him unable to walk, talk or move any part of his body other than his left foot and his head. As a child, Christy was never truly recognised by his father as being a member of the family, particularly noticed when Mrs. Brown had to tell her husband to say ‘good-bye’ to Christy as well as when he says “the child’s a cripple, face facts. Don’t be putting ideas in his head”. Perhaps this is why Christy was so desperate to prove himself to his father, who believed he knew nothing “What would he know?”. Perhaps it was this that drove Christy to pick up the chalk with his left foot and, while the family stood around and held their breath in anticipation, wrote clearly on the floor one word: Mother. This was the only action Christy had to take to prove to his father that he was his flesh and blood, and the message was clearly received by the father who at once shouted “He’s a Brown. He’s a Brown alright. Christy is a Brown…This is Christy Brown. My son-genius!” This was undoubtedly a bright moment for Christy as he had gained the acceptance of his father’s love and proclaimed his own for his mother.
Even in Lies of Silence, Dillon had the issue with rejection, and that was that of his father’s rejection of him. for a reason we cannot tell, Dillon’s father somehow always resented him and thought him not good enough to do anything correctly. However, Dillon does himself admit that his father was proud of him managing the Clarence hotel, that is in fact all that is offered to us to show that there existed some sort of bond. When the Clarence was bombed, Dillon’s father was the first to call him, yet Dillon rebuked the phone cal declaring his father the last person he wanted to talk with.
Another aspect of life we receive is the effect of alcohol in the family. In Home Sick Garden, especially, we see the hardship that is endure by Antonia’s family by her mother’s problem with drinking. Constant fights are suffered, to the point of Antonia thinking that her parents would be better off getting a divorce, It is the reason why Antonia had to grow up quickly, the reason for the feeling of insecurity. It makes life just that bit harder, not just for Elizabeth, but also for her husband and daughter.
In My Left Foot, Christy becomes an alcoholic because he has never truly been accepted by the opposite sex, which creates a definite feeling of loneliness, opposite to Antonia in Home Sick Garden. And even though in his state, even Christy had the moments where he would drink too much and become unpleasant. He would become bitter, depressed and violent when he reached the dark points in his life. With suicide being a failure, drink seems to be his only escape from reality. An escape from the dark spots of life.
Violence also presents itself in Lies of Silence, when Dillon and Moira are held hostage, by the IRA, in their own home from “four-fifteen” to seven a.m. It revealed the harsh truths of the danger that exists in northern Ireland to this present day. Fear is evident in Dillon and his wife, as all that occupies their minds is the possibility that their lives could end there and then. It is a sad thought that so many have to withstand such dark dilemmas in life, and though once scarce, the number of such people is increasing daily.
In conclusion, all novels gives us an insight to the different aspects of life. Aspects which are both dark and bright. Yet, it is up to us to decide upon which to dwell, if we need to dwell. And it is also our choice in live to dwell upon our own dark matters or our times of purest joy. Nothing is perfect, only God, and we are not Him. We were never meant to be perfect and it is with this thought that we strive and fight away the dark spots in life and try as hard as possible to reach the light and once more relish in happiness. We are in charge of what mood we want to be. With strength of character comes control. We are the captains of our own cruise. Whether we go through a storm and capsize or come out the other end a bit battered is really up to us.
posted by Thoyn at 10:52 p.m.
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