Analysis Of Barnabas And His Family In Paul Lynch's 'The Black Snow'
Hope crumbles into disappointment and despair for an outsider and his family in The Black Snow, by Paul Lynch. The opening words, “It was the beginning of darkness”, foreshadow the troubled arc of the narrative.
When Barnabas Kane returns from the United States to his roots in Donegal, he is charged with optimism. But life turns brutally cruel when the family’s barn goes up in flames, trapping inside both their cows and their farmhand. Barnabas is heartened when his neighbors join in trying to extinguish the blaze, but he is alienated when his requests for help in rebuilding the byre are rebuffed.
As the Kane family become convinced their struggles to recover are being undermined, Barnabas reacts with truculence, further isolating himself.
When Barnabas Kane returns from the United States to his roots in Donegal, he is charged with optimism. But life turns brutally cruel when the family’s barn goes up in flames, trapping inside both their cows and their farmhand. Barnabas is heartened when his neighbors join in trying to extinguish the blaze, but he is alienated when his requests for help in rebuilding the byre are rebuffed.
As the Kane family become convinced their struggles to recover are being undermined, Barnabas reacts with truculence, further isolating himself.