The Man of the House

This is a short story written by Frank O’Connor, an Irish. The story has partly depicted beliefs of Catholic faith which is commonly practiced in Ireland.

Applying the omniscient point of view, this story uses the presence of cathedral and the act of asking for a miracle as a last resort to symbolize devotion and faith. Candles may symbolize for hope.

This story was focused on a ten-year old unnamed boy. His character is torn between being a child and being a grown up. He is a picture torn between either to act responsibly or irresponsibly. His lack for a father figure, influence how his character acts and thinks. In this story, he is the one who stands as “the man of the house”. This is reflected in the line, “It’s a funny thing about women, the way they’ll take orders from anything in trousers, even if it’s only ten”. His character is taking the burden due to a father.

Yet in some parts of the story, his childhood characteristics were also portrayed. Children depend on their mothers and this characteristic was shown in young Sullivan’s character. “… I lay awake, thinking of what would happen to me..” – this is just one of the lines that depicts how the young boy worries losing his mother.

At first, Mrs. Sullivan was sickly portrayed while the young Sullivan was healthily represented. Prior to their health, these two characters took an exchange of role.

Social status was presented in this story. The portrayal of their house, Mrs. Sullivan’s “economical” used of sticks for the coalhole, their long-winded call for a doctor and some scenes of the story illuminates the character’s low social status. In general, it shows the burden of single parenting in which consequences are both experience by the parent and her child. The story seems to picture school for young Sullivan as if it was a thing of the past.

This story was narrated in a dark atmosphere. The condition of his mother made it gloomy. The sunlight that the young Sullivan felt turn out dark. This is best describe in a line, “…all the light had gone out of the day, and the murmuring hillside had become a vast, alien, cruel world”.

“…stealing a glance at the world outside. I could have stood there all day. Of all the profound and simple pleasures of those days, that was the richest.”, Once down there, I tended to forget the real world”, these lines give readers a hint that young boy was under difficulties. His character shows longing for peace.

O’Connor used a female character subtly similar to Eve to cunningly trick the young boy. She even advice him to lie to his mother. But uprightness is depicted in this story. Aside from being portrayed as a good child, as young as he was, he was able to counteract the young girl’s advice to lie though at first he said that he lost the medicine.

The story presented the theme of regret. This is reflected in this line, “We don’t mind them when we have them,’ he added, to my mother ‘and then we spend the rest of our lives regretting it.” Other than regret, it has also presented the themes of forgiveness, faith and humanity’ natural reaction towards death.

Figurative language was reflected in this lines, “like savages than Christians”, “the silence of the kitchen” and the “murmuring hillside.”