A Star Called Henry Character Analysis

Roddy Doyle’s bildungsroman, A Star Called Henry, follows the development of Henry Smart Jr. into the near image of his father, Henry Smart Sr. Henry unconsciously embraces his namesake despite comparisons from others, with the adoption of his father’s physical characteristics and in his role as a pawn in the Irish Rebellion. He acquires the identity of Henry Smart Sr., all until his epiphany, when he finally realizes his expendability and his fulfillment of his assassin father’s identity. For much of his journey, it appears that Henry will become his father; however, by desperately abandoning all remnants of his father’s identity, he avoids his harrowing fate.
Henry nearly becomes his father from his adoption of his father’s leg. Born as a miracle robust baby, Henry’s bright future is squashed following his father’s disappearance. He settles into a life of poverty in the slums of Dublin where he is first exposed to the art of stealing and violence. The rough slum life along with
Henry, symbolic of the fight for Irish freedom, recognizes the need to differentiate his daughter, the first generation of the Irish Free State, from his father’s identity, symbolic of Old Ireland. The surprisingly similarities between Henry as an infant and Saoirse, such as searching for his nipple and spitting up on the coat, reiterate Henry’s desire to free himself and his daughter from his father’s identity. By insisting his daughter not be named Melody after his weakened mother, Henry is adamant about protecting future generations from the previous struggles. At the end Henry manages to escape his father’s fate, being killed for his dispensability, with his life for self-preservation purposes. Ultimately, his decision to leave his family behind, comparable to his father’s action, was entirely his decision out of repudiation of his father’s