Cal Key Notes
“Cal” by Bernard MacLaverty
Key Quotes (in reverse)
Central Concerns: the effect of sectarianism on the individual AND guilt (these are also connected)
“The next morning, Christmas Eve, almost as if he expected it, the police arrived to arrest him and he stood in a dead-man’s Y-fronts listening to the charge, grateful that at last someone was going to beat him to within an inch of his life”
CONTEXT
This is the last paragraph of the novel. Crilly and Skeffington will have informed the police of Cal’s involvement in Robert Morton’s murder (in revenge for informing on them for the bomb in the library).
THEME 1 – he has been drawn into violence and is now in trouble.
THEME 2 – he is “grateful” – which seems ironic - but we know that CAL had difficulty dealing with his guilt.
CHARACTER – this is a final pathetic image of CAL. He is wearing the underwear of his victim. You can see how this would appear to Marcella and the police. We, the readers, understand that he does feel remorse for his involvement – but it look as if he has capitalized on the murder by moving in on a vulnerable widow.
“And they made love in an absolute and intense silence”
CONTEXT – Just before his arrest the following morning.
THEME2 – This shows that Cal and Marcella can be together – but only when things are left unsaid. If he confesses, or the truth is known, their relationship is over.
CHARACTER – throughout, Cal struggles to articulate his thoughts and feelings. Because of MacLaverty’s narrative stance (third person, but from Cal’s point of view), the reader knows what is in Cal’s mind – even though no other character in the novel has that privilege.
“He wanted to share his guilt with the person he had wronged. To commune with her and be forgiven” p143 CONTEXT – we are told this just after Cal has realised that Marcella’s marriage to Robert Morton was not completely happy.
THEME 2 – This is the closest he comes to confessing – the reader suspects he may then he
Key Quotes (in reverse)
Central Concerns: the effect of sectarianism on the individual AND guilt (these are also connected)
“The next morning, Christmas Eve, almost as if he expected it, the police arrived to arrest him and he stood in a dead-man’s Y-fronts listening to the charge, grateful that at last someone was going to beat him to within an inch of his life”
CONTEXT
This is the last paragraph of the novel. Crilly and Skeffington will have informed the police of Cal’s involvement in Robert Morton’s murder (in revenge for informing on them for the bomb in the library).
THEME 1 – he has been drawn into violence and is now in trouble.
THEME 2 – he is “grateful” – which seems ironic - but we know that CAL had difficulty dealing with his guilt.
CHARACTER – this is a final pathetic image of CAL. He is wearing the underwear of his victim. You can see how this would appear to Marcella and the police. We, the readers, understand that he does feel remorse for his involvement – but it look as if he has capitalized on the murder by moving in on a vulnerable widow.
“And they made love in an absolute and intense silence”
CONTEXT – Just before his arrest the following morning.
THEME2 – This shows that Cal and Marcella can be together – but only when things are left unsaid. If he confesses, or the truth is known, their relationship is over.
CHARACTER – throughout, Cal struggles to articulate his thoughts and feelings. Because of MacLaverty’s narrative stance (third person, but from Cal’s point of view), the reader knows what is in Cal’s mind – even though no other character in the novel has that privilege.
“He wanted to share his guilt with the person he had wronged. To commune with her and be forgiven” p143 CONTEXT – we are told this just after Cal has realised that Marcella’s marriage to Robert Morton was not completely happy.
THEME 2 – This is the closest he comes to confessing – the reader suspects he may then he