Brooklyn
Brooklyn is more about loss than gain? How accurate is this statement?
Brooklyn is neither more nor less about loss than it is about gain. Rather they are both two of the crucial ideas within the novel experienced by characters other than just Eilis. These two key ideas which are evident throughout play an important role in aiding the growth and development of characters throughout the novel, particularly Eilis. The examples of apparent loss experienced include the losses for family and loss of family, not just the deceased such as Rose or Eilis’s father but also the living which results in the loss of home ensuing in severe homesickness. Certain gains recognizable are a new refined sense of identity for Eilis, in that she has gained much more confidence and self-assurance which helped in developing room for growth and maturity from the once passive and shy girl in a confident woman. Leaving for Brooklyn upon the wishes of others brings out the need for survival in Eilis. She gains the need for survival not only when in Brooklyn but also on the journey there. The hardships she faced were that of the migrant experience in the 1950’s which required the need to survive in order to establish more successful life not only Brooklyn but other foreign countries. There are no particular losses which outweigh the gains and vice versa. Both are very relevant and central ideas in Brooklyn, which not only help the development in characters as well as making it more relatable to the readers.
Although not mentioned in the opening sequences of the novel, we eventually come to learn of a loss even earlier than when Eilis leaves for Brooklyn, this being the death of the Eilis and Rose’s father. The loss of their father is also a defining factor for Mrs. Lacey’s character. Never once throughout the novel is Mrs. Lacey’s first name ever mentioned. This could mean that the role she plays is only defined as a dutiful wife and mother. Mrs. Lacey also loses her three sons as they
Brooklyn is neither more nor less about loss than it is about gain. Rather they are both two of the crucial ideas within the novel experienced by characters other than just Eilis. These two key ideas which are evident throughout play an important role in aiding the growth and development of characters throughout the novel, particularly Eilis. The examples of apparent loss experienced include the losses for family and loss of family, not just the deceased such as Rose or Eilis’s father but also the living which results in the loss of home ensuing in severe homesickness. Certain gains recognizable are a new refined sense of identity for Eilis, in that she has gained much more confidence and self-assurance which helped in developing room for growth and maturity from the once passive and shy girl in a confident woman. Leaving for Brooklyn upon the wishes of others brings out the need for survival in Eilis. She gains the need for survival not only when in Brooklyn but also on the journey there. The hardships she faced were that of the migrant experience in the 1950’s which required the need to survive in order to establish more successful life not only Brooklyn but other foreign countries. There are no particular losses which outweigh the gains and vice versa. Both are very relevant and central ideas in Brooklyn, which not only help the development in characters as well as making it more relatable to the readers.
Although not mentioned in the opening sequences of the novel, we eventually come to learn of a loss even earlier than when Eilis leaves for Brooklyn, this being the death of the Eilis and Rose’s father. The loss of their father is also a defining factor for Mrs. Lacey’s character. Never once throughout the novel is Mrs. Lacey’s first name ever mentioned. This could mean that the role she plays is only defined as a dutiful wife and mother. Mrs. Lacey also loses her three sons as they