Cal by Bernard Mac Laverty †Critical Evaluation Essay

Cal is a romantic-tragedy novel written by the Irish author, Bernard macintosh Laverty. It is a fiction story closely a young man living in northerly Ireland during the troubles of the 1970s. The source conveys a number of hearty themes through skilful writing and the novels plot, such as eviliness, hypocrisy and bigotry. In this essay, I will be focusing on the themes of the story, the purpose of why the novel was written and the authors use of resourcefulness to enhance his writing.The events of this story take broadcast in Northern Ireland in the 1970s. During the period of time in which this story is set in, Northern Ireland was going through what we would now refer to as creation The Troubles. This was a period of conflict involving republi good deal and loyalist paramilitary organisations and included conflicts and violence. Cal is close to a young adult named Cal who is living in Northeren Ireland at this time. He is a Catholic living in a Protestant bea with his pose, Shamie. This leads to him being the victom of umpteen bigotry driven attacks, such as his house being burnt down and to him being insulted on his own street. He starts to f exclusively in drive in with a woman named Marcella, which, from the very beginning, is a doomed relationship.This is because a year earlier Cal was reluctantly problematical in the murder of a Protestant policeman, who was, in fact, Marcellas husband. Cal becomes closer and closer to Marcella as the novel goes on, and you find out more round the murder as the plot develops. He then lands himself-importance a job at Mrs. Mortons farm, the mother of Marcellas husband, Robert. This brings him even closer to Marcella and they start to have a relationship with each other. This relationship becomes even more acute when Cal is offered to stay in Mrs. Mortons outhouse (as his house had been burnt down). He is then arrested at the end of the novel, for the murder of Robert.The ending of the story was very skil lfully done. Near the end of the story, Mac Laverty builds up massive tension through certain events in the plot. It is then all concluded in a small, hitherto effective, paragraph. It tells us enough information to feel satifsfied, yet wanting to know more. It leaves key questions in the readers mind such as whether he deserved it or not and what will be his fate. I believe that the plot is a very important aspect of the story as it develops the imagination and atmosphere and it is the events which take place which allow the themes to be conveyed.All the characters in Cal have complicated lifes. Most of them have good and corky sides and are all affected in different ways by the troubles. Cal is nineteen years old. He lives with his father and he is a Catholic. He is caught up with the IRA (Irish republican Party) and takes part in a number of crimes which he does not want to be part of. After he joined, he had to do what they asked, such as when Cal thinks of the things the IRA doThey shoot deserters even deserters who protested that they hadnever joined in the first place.This quotation shows that Cal is scared of Crilly and Skeffington (members of the IRA) and that he is in danger. It overly shows that Cal never cute to take part in the violence making it sound stupid that they would shoot him. This whole section shows that Cal is vunerable. The writer makes out that Robert is a hard works loving man throughout the story. For mannequin, when Marcella is telling Cal about her husbandHe was so plausible one of those people that everybody likes incompany.This quote shows that Robert was popular and was a worthy man, and there is in like manner evidence showing that he was witty and intelligent. However, we subsequently find out that he was not all what he was meant to have been, as Marcella confesses to CalHe told lies, Cal. All the time. About his affairs I know he had two or three at least about his drinking and the money he spentThis is an exam ple of how the characters have both good and bad characteristics. Despite this, Marcella still loved him and was distraught when he was murdered. This also makes the characters more realistic, which lets the reader relate to the different characters in Cal. It also creates the question of who was too blame for The Troubles which relates to the theme and purpose of the novel, which I will be discussing later in this essay.All of the characters are affected by the troubles as well, as most of their problems are due to that situation. For example, if it was not for the troubles, then Cal would not have been involved with the IRA and Robert wouldnt have been murdered, taking problems out of all of the characters lives. All of the characters features reflect the themes, such as Cals characteristic of being vunerable, leading to his self loathing and guilt.There are some themes in the novel Cal. One of these themes that I will be focusing on is the theme of hypocrisy. Hypocrisy direction the pretence of possessing virtues, beliefs or qualities that one does not really have, especially in matters of religion or morality. One way in which the author displays this theme is via precise characters, such as Crilly. Crilly is part of a gang who are fighting for independence from Great Britain. For example, when Skeffington is talk of the town about CrillyThere are not many aspects of our culture which interests Mr Crilly. But hes a useful man.This quote shows that Crilly does not care about Irish independence and culture but is still in the gang as he likes the thrill of violence. It also shows that the IRA are not offended about his beliefs but just want him to serve up with their struggle. This shows them being hypocritical as they kill people who do not believe or reject their views, but someone who does not care about Irish independence can help with the violence. Another way in which hypocrisy is showing is through thoughts of characters and their dialogue. This is taking from a part where Dunlop (Cals Protestant employer) is talking to Cal about the situation in Northern IrelandWould you do the same to the Loyalist prisoners every time a Catholic was murdered?Dunlop thinks that for any Protestant policeman who is murdered by a Catholic, two Catholics should be shot. This quotes shows that Dunlop is a hypocrite as he would shoot two Catholics every time a Protestant policeman was murdered but not if it was the other way around. This also shows that Dunlop is a bigot, which ties in with my next theme, bigotry. A bigot is a person who is stubbornly or intolerantly devoted to their own religion, or opinion. Bigotry is the main cause of fear and violence in the story. One night, Cal and his father receive a note statingGET OUT YOU FENYAN SCUM OR WELL BURN YOU OUT. THIS IS YOUR 2ND WARNING, THERE WILL BE NO OTHERUVFThis clearly diplays pure bigotry. Cal and his father are being threatened to leave their home of many years, just because of thei r religion. This quote also shows how ignorant the UVF are, as they have spelt fenyan wrongly. This leads to Cal and his father being fearful, for exampleShamie was putting the gun beneath his pillow and climbing intobedThis shows that Cals father has to keep a weapon underneath his pillow as there is a constant threat of violence.Another theme which has been cleverly developed is the theme of guilt. Cal feels inculpatory about his involvement in the killing of Robert, which leads to his self-loathing. At the start of the novel, the writer makes this very obviousMerde. Crotte de chein. Merderer.Cal hates himself so much, that he makes up words to describe himself. The word merderer has a possible two meanings it shows that he is guilty and secondly it shows his self loathing. As he becomes more and more involved with Marcella, his guilt increasesNow that he felt safe from the world outside he was being attackedfrom within his own headThis quote is taken from the section where he is living and working with Marcella. It shows that guilt is eating him up and is destroying him and his life. The author also uses writing techniques to convey the theme of guiltIt was as if idleness had allowed dirt to accumulate on his Cal soul,to clog his mind, and work moved him through it untouchedMac Laverty uses this metaphor to show how Cal was brooding over Mortons death and his involvement. It also shows that he thinks that he deserves to go to hell for what he has done. When Marcella tells Cal about what Robert was really like, it complicates his guilt as he now knows that Robert sometimes brought misery to Marcella, and maybe it was good that Robert was murdered.All of these themes show the writers purpose in writing. He shows bad and good sides to both Protestant and Catholic organisations, leading to us to wonder which is the good side in the novel. The story also shows us how difficult and rampageous Northern Ireland was at that time in history, and how deeply everybod y was affected. To an extent, the way the author writes also shows aspects of him being a bit ashamed of his country, due to the negative lucubrate and feelings he writes about.Mac Laverty uses a range of techniques to create the mood and atmosphere in the novel. One of these techniques, is his use of imagery. The story starts with this mood with the author describing the scenes taking place in an abattoirIt was immediately winched up by one of the hind shanks and itsthroat cutThe author uses a lot of violence and blood imagery at the start of the novel to set the tone of the book. Other evidence which shows this use of evidence is that there are a lot of deaths and murders mentioned in the novel. An example of this is when Cal and his father are watching the news and the author describes the events that had happened, which were mainly murders and violence, in a way which seemed to be normal. Death permeates the novel as does religion. There are often references to the Bible and to religious symbols throughout the novel. Symbolism is another technique that Mac Laverty uses. There is also symbolism to certain fairytales, such as when Marcella is talking to Cal about her daughter, LucyLucys favourite story at the minute is RepunzelThis is significant as Marcella feels like she is trapped because she tries to do the right thing.The plot has been structured in a sophisticated way. The story has two climaxes one in the middle and the other at the end. The first one occurs when the writer tells you about the death of Robert. This is significant as there is a huge tension built up before you find out. The author does this via short clues which are spread out throughout the novel and short sentences. The second climax is done in a similar way, but the paragraph in which it concludes, is quick and snappy and tells of only the most significant point, which is Cal being arrested. The dialogue of the novel is very realistic. The author does this by using Irish forms of s lang, such as da instead of dad, and explicit language. The writer also uses great techniques to enhance his writingHis sin clawed at him, demanding attentionThe writer personifies the idea of the sin, describing the feeling of it clawing, to give the idea of Cals guilt and how is is destroying him and is eating him up. The verb clawing is associated with violence and adds to the imagery that the author uses to enhance his novel and to create the atmosphere.I thoroughly enjoyed reading Cal. It made me realise how lives can be destroyed due to situations which do not even involve them. The themes of the novel also made me more aware about some peoples views and how they can sometimes be full of violence and hatred. It showed me what life was like in Ireland in those days and how we have to try to avoid anything so destructive from possibility again.