Star of the Sea, what kind of man is Lord Kingscourt
Assignment 1
‘Star of the Sea’ by Joseph o Connor is a text set during the Irish Potato Famine, in 1847. The Irish Potato famine of the 1840s was the greatest social catastrophe of 19th century Europe, yet inspired surprisingly little imaginative writing. (Eagleton, 2002) However this book has been described by the Sunday Times as having ‘compelling characters and a dizzying narrative’ (Heaney, 2007) This compelling story is set around a wealthy, turned bankrupt, land owner and his family who flee to America, the promised land, in search of a new life. They are joined on this journey by a range of other passengers whose previous lives are in entwined together in a past that won’t let them go. The book has been written as ‘multi-layered, with the story told by several voices’ (Spain, 2007) One has chosen to take an in depth look at Lord Kingscourt and the type of man he is, from three different perspectives. These perspectives are looked at through the eyes of himself, GG Dixon and Mary Duane. One will be looking at his opinion of himself, as read in Chapter 2, ‘The Victim’. This chapter shows Lord Kingscourt in a positive light from the onset. We will get a brief insight into his childhood, his relationship with his father and how this affects his relationship with his own children now. We see that Lord Kingscourt has a close relationship with his children that most men of that period do not have, he takes part in their upbringing, ‘Excuse my lateness, Lord Kingscourt said, There are two little chaps i know who insist on being told bedtime stories.’ (O Connor, 2003, Page 7) One will see the different kinds of relationships he has with people from every walk of life and the compassion and consideration he shows towards lower classes. This will be followed by GG Dixon’s opinion in chapter 3, ‘The Cause’. One will discover that GG Dixon’s opinion of Lord Kingscourt is a complete contrast of the previous chapter discussed. The chapter has been
‘Star of the Sea’ by Joseph o Connor is a text set during the Irish Potato Famine, in 1847. The Irish Potato famine of the 1840s was the greatest social catastrophe of 19th century Europe, yet inspired surprisingly little imaginative writing. (Eagleton, 2002) However this book has been described by the Sunday Times as having ‘compelling characters and a dizzying narrative’ (Heaney, 2007) This compelling story is set around a wealthy, turned bankrupt, land owner and his family who flee to America, the promised land, in search of a new life. They are joined on this journey by a range of other passengers whose previous lives are in entwined together in a past that won’t let them go. The book has been written as ‘multi-layered, with the story told by several voices’ (Spain, 2007) One has chosen to take an in depth look at Lord Kingscourt and the type of man he is, from three different perspectives. These perspectives are looked at through the eyes of himself, GG Dixon and Mary Duane. One will be looking at his opinion of himself, as read in Chapter 2, ‘The Victim’. This chapter shows Lord Kingscourt in a positive light from the onset. We will get a brief insight into his childhood, his relationship with his father and how this affects his relationship with his own children now. We see that Lord Kingscourt has a close relationship with his children that most men of that period do not have, he takes part in their upbringing, ‘Excuse my lateness, Lord Kingscourt said, There are two little chaps i know who insist on being told bedtime stories.’ (O Connor, 2003, Page 7) One will see the different kinds of relationships he has with people from every walk of life and the compassion and consideration he shows towards lower classes. This will be followed by GG Dixon’s opinion in chapter 3, ‘The Cause’. One will discover that GG Dixon’s opinion of Lord Kingscourt is a complete contrast of the previous chapter discussed. The chapter has been